Run
by Jasmine2009
Summary: Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo finds himself in a unique situation with Director Vance's two children.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Run  
Author: Jasmine  
Date: August 22, 2011  
Rated: PG  
Universe: NCIS, Season 10: Episode just before "Shabbat Shalom".  
Spoiler Note: Episode 10.11 "Shabbat Shalom" aired just as I was finishing this story. I was left with the dilemma of keeping that character  
in my story, or rewriting that character out. I chose to keep her in.  
Summary: Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo finds himself in a unique situation with Director Vance's two children.

Tony pulled up to the curb, shoved the car into Park and cut the engine. He was just about to get out when a tug on his coat sleeve stopped him. "What?"

Ziva leaned closer and said, "You seem uptight. Is everything okay?"

"Not really. I'm supposed to be meeting Danielle tonight for our second date. Considering my recent track record, just getting a second date is this side short of a miracle."

"Then you should be happy."

"Except she sent me a text asking me to call her. Who sends a text like that? Why didn't she just call me?"

"Danielle? Isn't she a little old for you?"

"Don't go there. Besides, I'm trying something new. Maybe I want to date someone closer to my age; someone a little wiser, someone a little more experienced."

"I see. In that case, isn't she a little young for you?"

Tony pulled his arm away and got out of the car. "I'm not exactly sure what we're doing here. Seems like Director Vance could get any number of agents to guard his family."

"He could, and he did, but Gibbs wanted us to do it."

"Seems like a job for the FBI, if you ask me."

"It should be, but we didn't," said a voice from the shadows of the driveway, "—ask you, that is."

"Fornell," Tony acknowledged, "and Agent Slacks. Nice of you to do your job, but my question remains. If you're here, why are we?"

"You'll have to ask your fearless leader that one, DiNotzo, but if I were to guess, I'd say it was to offer protection to the Director of NCIS and his family."

"Why aren't you doing it, especially since you're already here?"

Fornell shrugged and Tony couldn't tell if he was glad to not have the assignment, or insulted.

"Just my luck," Tony whined. "What are the odds of Director Vance witnessing a murder?"

"Probably as good as you getting a second date from Danielle."

"It's a moot point, since he did," Fornell said.

"Did what? Get a second date or witness a murder?"

"Who are we talking about?" Agent Sachs asked, reminding everyone that he was still there.

Ignoring the turn the conversation had taken, Fornell continued, "You just have to make sure your Director gets to the courthouse in time to testify."

"Exactly when is that? And are we supposed to be round-the-clock protection for him, or will the FBI spell us?"

"Another moot point, Agent DiNotso. Your boss makes all the decisions on this one, and if I were a betting man, I would bet that you're it."

Tony watched them leave, feeling his annoyance at the whole affair building. Looking across the darkness, he asked, "Who's that?"

Ziva looked in the direction that Tony was staring. Across the street was a black sedan with a man sitting in the driver's seat. "That is Agent Sanders. He has been assigned to watch the house tonight. Like us, he would rather be out on a date, but Gibbs called him in."

Tony grunted, still annoyed but beginning to feel the importance of the situation. "The Director really stepped in it this time," he mused, walking up the sidewalk. "He takes his wife out to celebrate their wedding anniversary and, BAM!, they end up being the only eye witness to a 1930's style hit taking place right there in the very restaurant where they're eating. And if that isn't bad enough, he can identify the murderer, Guido DaVoodi, the well known East Coast Mafia kingpin." It all reminded him too much of his days in Baltimore, working undercover in the Mafia. His shoulders shivered at the memory. "What a name! Who names their kid Guido?"

Ziva shrugged, but when she caught him glaring down at her, she toned, "Do not quarrel with me. Like you, I would rather be going out with John tonight."

"Who?"

"Nevermind." She knocked on the front door and smiled when McGee opened it. "Sorry we are late. He's being grouchy."

Agent McGee stepped aside and allowed them to enter.

"John who?"

They stood in the foyer; she, ignoring her partner's question, and he, hoping to extract an answer simply by staring at her.

Having no idea what they were talking about, McGee said, "Gibbs is in the kitchen with Director Vance."

Tony allowed his thoughts to move on and he looked around. Nice house, he thought, but he had no idea where the kitchen was located, so he continued to stand in the middle of the foyer. Halfway up the staircase, Ziva noticed two youngsters peering down on them. She smiled and commented, "I did not realize Director Vance's children were so young."

Kayla, the older daughter, straightened her back and squared her shoulders. She was going to be thirteen shortly and she didn't consider herself a little kid anymore.

"Their mother just sent them upstairs to do their homework."

"So, where's the kitchen, McGPS?"

Tim closed the door and led them through the dining room and into the kitchen. They appeared to have interrupted a somewhat contentious discussion, and, as such, they stood silently, implementing the adage that it's better to be seen and not heard. Finally, the awkward silence forced Vance to make introductions. "Jackie, this is Special Agents Anthony DiNozzo and Ziva David. This is my wife, Jacqueline Vance."

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Vance. I'm sorry for this intrusion," Ziva said.

Jackie smiled, wanting desperately to change the subject from the previous conversation and thankful for the opportunity to do just that. "I'm not worried as long as Leon's not worried. And as far as I can tell, he's not worried as long as Gibbs isn't worried."

Her husband smirked, not at all liking his personal affairs being set out on display in front of his subordinates, but he couldn't pinpoint if his displeasure was with the exposure, or this particular team. "Let's take this into the other room. It's getting crowded in here."

Tony and Ziva stepped aside as the Director, his wife, and Gibbs walked by.

"I know a thing or two about witness protection, Gibbs. I didn't get where I am today never having put together a plan or two that ensured the safety of a few high profile personnel."

"I didn't say you haven't. All I'm saying, Leon, is the best way to protect you and your family is to separate you from each other. Jackie and the children should be taken to a safe house. You should be anywhere but here, with 24-hour protection, until you testify."

"Oh no, Agent Gibbs. I'm not leaving my husband."

This was a conversation that Tony, Ziva, and McGee did not want to be privy to. In their own way, each distanced themselves from it. Tony feigned interest in a bookshelf; McGee looked intently at the home theater set-up, and Ziva admired the house, almost missing the faces peeking around the corner. Two sets of dark eyes were staring intently into the room, and one set was seemingly fixed on her partner. That made her smile and she and McGee shared a knowing glance at a young girl's infatuation. Her partner had yet to notice his admirer.

Remembering how Gibbs felt about lawyers and how stubborn his own wife could be, Vance changed the subject, "Does Ms. Hart have the documents ready? She was supposed to have the layout of the shooter in relation to the victim based on Ms. Scuito's calculations."

M. Allison Hart had been recruited to offer legal advice so that the evidence would result in a conviction. In a case such as this, nobody wanted a mistrial, or worse, it thrown out. Gibbs shrugged, and turned away, catching the sparkle of Kayla's eyes as she stared up at his senior field agent. Her gaze reminded him of another time, and another little girl, and it seemed like everyone in the room was aware of the girl's fascination, save for one. The object of her affection was completely oblivious; instead, he was currently checking his phone, and frowning, no doubt deep in thought over his latest dilemma.

"Kayla!" Jackie admonished, startling Tony into noticing the young girl for the first time. "You should be upstairs doing your homework."

Tony smiled down at her, awkwardly, not quite understanding why she was staring up at him.

Jared goaded, "She wanted to meet him."

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"All right! That's enough. These agents have work to do."

Ziva couldn't help herself and offered, "Part of our job is to look after your children, Mrs. Vance. I'm sure Agent DiNozzo wouldn't mind helping them with their homework."

"Really?" Kayla said, her excitement evident in her smile. "That would be great! You can help me first!"

"That's not fair," Jared countered. "He should help me first!"

Gibbs smiled at Tony's current dumbfounded expression. He really didn't have a clue when it came to children.

"I don't think I would be very good with homework. I wasn't the best student," he stammered. "But McGee here, he was a great student—"

"Pleeeez…" Kayla begged, taking his hand and pulling him towards the stairs. "I can play a song on my piano for you."

Jared grabbed his other hand and pulled, "Can you show me how to shoot a basketball? My dad tells me that you used to play for Ohio and that you can teach me how to shoot a basketball?"

Tony looked for help from anyone, but all he got were crooked grins and finger waves as he was dragged up the steps.

Jackie shook her head, "I'm sorry, Agent Gibbs. These school girl crushes are going to be the death of me."

"He'll manage."

"Yes he will…" Ziva mused, sharing a wink with McGee. She moved towards the windows and looked out into the darkness. Her pupils dilated when she caught a glimpse of some movement. The hairs on her neck raised, and she put her hand on her gun.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sur—"

The window exploded as the bullets ripped through it. "Get down!" Gibbs shouted to Vance, who pulled his wife down and covered her body with his own.

"Cut the lights!" Ziva ordered.

McGee hit the switch and joined his boss and partner at the window. Bright muzzle flashes could be seen as they riddled the house with gunfire. Gibbs caught a glimpse of Saunders, his body slumped forward over the steering wheel.

Tony was at the top of the stairs when he had heard the first gunshot blast. He quickly scooped up the boy and grabbed the girl's hand, hauling them into a back bedroom and slamming the door hard behind him. "What's going on?" Kayla asked, wide eyed.

Looking around, he ignored her question and asked one of his own, "Have you ever snuck out of your house before?"

"What?"

"Nevermind." He yanked the curtains back and looked out. It was dark with plenty of tree cover; that was good enough for what he had in mind.

"What's happening?"

"We have visitors, and not the good kind." He stooped down to her level and asked, "I need you to do exactly what I say and you'll be okay. Can you do that?"

She nodded, eyes as big as saucers.

"Good." He pulled all the linens off the bed and dropped them out the window. "I'm going to lower you down as far as I can. Then, I'm going to drop you onto those pillows. Just roll with the fall and you'll be fine. Jared will come next, and I'll come last. Keep quiet and stay in the shadows of the house. Got it?"

She nodded, looking over her shoulder each time she heard the deafening noise tearing up the house below. She went out the window first and dropped softly onto the padding. Jared fell nicely onto the pillows and Kayla grabbed him and pulled him close to the house. They watched the much larger man hit the pillows and roll, but he didn't land so softly.

Tony was just thankful he hadn't broken anything.

Downstairs, it had become quiet. Jackie was holding onto her husband, while Gibbs, Ziva and McGee were staring down the barrel of three semi automatic hand guns. Each man who entered the room wore the same dark suit, the same short cropped hair, and carried enough lead on his belt to sink a flotilla. As if on cue, several of the goons parted to allow a smaller, yet similarly dressed, man through. His eyes were cold and his expression stolid. As he entered, he sensed the dangerous scent of the raven haired Israeli, and warned, "Don't anyone try to be a hero and nobody will get hurt."

"What do you want?" Gibbs asked.

"I want insurance, Special Agent Gibbs. Actually, my boss wants it, and he's paying me good money to get it." He ticked his head to his subordinates and two of them turned and left.

"What are you talking about?" Vance toned.

"I'm talking about your testimony on Friday, Director Vance. Not too many juries can argue with the testimony of a federal agent, much less with the Director of NCIS."

"You planning on killing us?" Jackie said.

"No. That would be foolish and non-productive. My boss wants off, not another murder rap against him. My plans involve helping you _remember_ exactly what you saw on that fateful night. But my boss didn't think you'd change your testimony just because we asked you nicely. He thinks you're going to need a little persuasion to do that, which is why I'm here. We intend on borrowing your children just until after the arraignment."

"The Hell you are!" Vance hissed.

The guns rose in tandem and prevented the steely eyed black man from approaching the more diminutive white one, but the gesture was wasted on him because Vance was holding back his wife.

"I like a woman with spunk. I dare say if it weren't for your husband, you'd take a swing at me."

She narrowed her eyes and replied, "If you touch my children, I'll take more than a swing."

One of the hired muscle appeared in the doorway and, like a good soldier, reported, "Mr. Testidori?"

"What is it?"

"We can't find 'em."

"What do you mean, 'you can't find them'. We know they're here."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Testidori, but they aren't upstairs or downstairs. We've looked everywhere."

Testidori turned and faced the Director and Mrs. Vance. He stared long and hard at them before determining that they knew nothing. Then, he turned his attention to the silver haired agent. When DaVoodi hired him to handle this matter, he'd done his homework and he knew everything there was to know about Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Ziva David, Timothy McGee, and Anthony DiNozzo. "Where's the other agent, Special Agent Gibbs?" he calmly asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Testidori sized up his opponent. He even had his goons raise their guns in his direction, but he soon realized that there was no way for any of them to have known that they were coming tonight, and no way for them to have come up with a plan so quickly. Staring him down, he eventually turned to his goons and seethed, "Search the place again. Pull up the carpeting if you have to. I want those kids… And I want that agent—DiNozzo!"

All but two of the muscle left the room, and Testidori paced a few minutes, calming himself down. Eventually, he explained, "As I've already said, Director Vance, come Friday when you and your wife testify before the grand jury, I'm expecting you to substantially alter your recollection of the events. If you do that, you'll see your children again. If you don't, then I shudder to think what might happen to them."

Vance took a step forward, but pulled up, understanding the situation far too well. He quietly toned, "You're scum."

"Perhaps, but I'm rich scum."

"Mr. Testidori!" the goon said, bursting into the room and pausing only long enough to catch his breath. "I'm telling you, they're gone! Nowhere in this house!"

He whipped around and snarled, "How can they be gone!"

"The house is empty. It looks as though they went out the window!"

"Well—follow them!"

Gunfire interrupted the command and Testidori jerked the drapes on the window and caught the rear lights of a car as it burned rubber peeling away from the curb.

Gibbs suddenly had chills when he realized what must have happened, and what Tony managed to do. Silently, he mouthed, "Run, Tony, run."

Testidori glared a second before shouting, "After them!"

All but three hired muscle raced from the room, leaving his boss and two other goons to guard their hostages.

Gibbs, David and McGee were apart from Vance and his wife while they waited anxiously for some news. Gibbs stared at the hit man, knowing the news Gibbs was waiting for was far different from the news Testidori was waiting for.

The hit man appeared calm and calculated, while his lackeys were anything but. Ziva kept every sense open to possibilities and they knew it, insisting that one entire gun be aimed at her at all times. The waiting seemed to have gotten to one of suits because he eventually aimed his gun at Vance and angrily offered, "Let's just blow them away right now and be done with it!"

Testidori put a hand out and lowered the gun, "Take it easy, Rory. We don't kill anybody we aren't paid to kill, except maybe an agent named DiNozzo; he'll be _a gratis_, on the house, so to speak. Rest assured, Rory, they won't get away. We'll have them picked up within the hour." Glowering at the Head of NCIS, he smugly added, "Then it'll be up to you, Director, and your testimony on Friday as to what happens to them."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**_Thanks to anyone who posts a comment. I know this story isn't canon anymore, and I probably should have posted it earlier, but RL often interfers with my writing muse. Enjoy._**

Chapter Break

Tony raced down the tree lined street at 60 mph. _'Where were the cops when you needed them?'_ flitted through his brain. He took a corner too fast and skidded sideways fifty feet before he could regain control and speed down the next darkened street. He soon realized just how close they were when his back window exploded into a million glass particles. The sound was deafening and he had to turn the wheel hard to avoid slamming into a parked car. He glanced over at the white knuckled young girl, clutching her brother. Shouting, he asked, "How old are you?"

She mumbled something.

"What!"

"I'm almost 13," she yelled up at him.

"Good enough. You ever fire a gun before!"

The young girl stared up at him, eyes larger than dinner plates.

Undeterred, Tony thrust his Sig at her and ordered, "Use two hands, hold it tight, and fire straight out the back window. NOW!"

Jared ducked under Tony's arm as his sister turned in the seat. Another blast took off his side mirror and Tony yelled, "DO IT, KAYLA! SHOOT!"

She opened fire. The recoil alone smacked her hands against the roof of the car, but she held on, took aim again, and emptied the chamber into the pursuing car.

She hit her mark because the radiator spewed liquid and the hood popped up, sending the trailing car careening into the darkness. Tony glanced behind him, then gave Kayla an approving nod, "Good job."

She slunk back down and Tony slid the gun from her hand and holstered it.

But the revelry didn't last long. From out of nowhere, a car slammed into the rear passenger side, sending the dark colored sedan into a tail spin. Tony's head smashed against the driver's side window and when the car finally came to a stop, they were staring at the headlights of an oncoming car barreling down on them. Reacting by instinct, he threw the car into reverse and floored it. Speeding backwards down the street, he was able to stay only yards ahead of the gaining automobile, but he was coming up to a cross roads and heading straight for a recreation vehicle parked at the curb. At the last possible second, he slammed on his brakes and wrenched the steering wheel, sending his car into a spin. He managed to avoid any collision, but the other car wasn't so lucky, and it slammed into the Silver Bullet, bursting into flames upon impact.

Tony threw his car in gear and sped away from the flames, still looking over his shoulder for more pursuers. His vision wasn't too good and his head hurt like hell, but he kept the gas pedal floored and the wheels straight. During one of his backward glances, he spied both kids on the floorboards. He reached down and pulled the young boy back up on his seat, "You okay, Jared? How 'bout you, Kayla?"

The young boy buried his head into Tony's side and his sister nervously nodded, "I think so."

Tony drove straight for the highway and didn't stop looking back until he had merged with traffic. Still shaking, he glanced down at his newly acquired wards. Kayla stared straight out the windshield, hardly blinking, and Jared still had his head buried in his side. He reached over and laid his hand firmly on her shoulder. He needed for her to believe they were going to be okay, but how could she when he didn't for a minute believe it himself?

The many cars surrounding them on the notoriously crowded interstate gave him a feeling of comfort. He concentrated on his situation and his plan. What plan? They had escaped by the grace of God, but now that they seemed to be out of imminent danger, what was he going to do? Where could he go? His leg was throbbing and his head was pounding and the combination was making it difficult to concentrate on any one idea. After a few miles, he realized something. He realized he had to think like the mafia. One thing he knew for certain, the mafia rarely failed at what they set out to do, which meant that normal, sensible and rationale thought wouldn't apply to this situation. He had to do the erratic, the unpredictable, and the randomly insane if they were ever going to survive. Damnit! Where was Ziva when he needed her?

"Agent Nozzo?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know, Jared."

"Are my mom and dad okay?"

Tony was taken aback by the question. He honestly had no idea; he wasn't even sure about his team. He took a moment and looked at Kayla, half expecting her to be looking for answers too. But she put her arm around her little brother and pulled him closer to her, "Why you always asking so many questions? Just be quiet for a change and let him think."

Tony gave her a long stare, thinking her words were probably far more comforting than anything he could have said.

Chapter Break

Every available agent and cop in the city were on Vance's tree lined suburban street. An ambulance was standing by, but Jackie refused to leave. Her spirited nature was a comfort, but it was also another person to have to deal with. Gibbs had sent Ziva to be with her, and at one point wondered if having two head strong women together was a good idea. But Ziva eventually convinced her to take some medication to relax her nerves.

M. Allison Hart was standing next to Gibbs when FBI Agents Fornell and Sachs walked solemnly into the room.

"What do we know?" she asked.

Fornell answered, "We know that Agent DiNotzo took the children out the window. We know that they were pursued down Grant Avenue and again on Oak Boulevard. After that, we lost them."

"What about the hired muscle?"

"Those who aren't dead are gone."

"What about DiNozzo's cell. You try contacting him?" Hart asked hopefully.

Fornell nodded, "He's got it off. Probably figures DaVoodi can track him."

The petite lawyer folder her arms across her chest and asked, "What now?"

"Well, Gibbs," Fornell began, directing his comments at his NCIS counterpart, "you know him probably better than anyone. Where would he go?"

Gibbs shrugged, having waited patiently through the conversation. He had his ideas but sharing them in a roomful of people—people he wasn't sure he could trust—was not going to happen. He'd seen far too many of his colleagues turn to the dark side for a few extra bucks. "I can tell you where he won't go."

By Fornell's expression, that wasn't exactly what the FBI had wanted to hear. Ziva excused herself from Mrs. Vance's side and joined the conversation, "He'll call us as soon as he can, but he won't call here. He'll call the office."

"Then let's go."

"Wait a minute," Hart said. "Director Vance, if this case is going to hold up in court, you and your wife need to be placed into protective custody."

"Listen, Ms. Hart, my children are being pursued right now by the Mafia, along with one of my agents. If you think you're going to squirrel us away while that's happening, you got another thing coming. We'll go to the Navy Yard because when they call, I'm going to be there!"

Hart knew determination when she heard it. Her job was to ensure a conviction against DaVoodi and she knew all too well that without Vance's testimony, there wouldn't be enough evidence to get one, much less take the case to court. They were looking at DaVoodi slipping away, an unacceptable outcome. But she didn't envy Vance in his current predicament. Her legal brain told her that there were few options in situations like this, and the ones they did have weren't very good.

Chapter Break

Tony knew they had to ditch the car. The city was a wonderful place to hide, unless you happen to be riding around in an illegal car. Nothing says "Pull Me Over" quite like a bullet riddled sedan with a busted out rear windshield and government tags. With DaVoodi owning a small piece of anything even remotely related to law enforcement, the first cop to spot them and call it in would spell disaster. They'd only been driving for about an hour, but they were near Baltimore, and now was as good a time as any to dump it. He took the next exit off the highway and drove down 32nd Street, remembering this area from his days as a Baltimore County detective. The bright lights didn't disguise the neighborhood, and Tony knew full well what part of town they were in, and it just so happened to be one of the deadliest. He pulled over next to an old phone booth, one of the few remaining that he hoped still worked, and gently shook Jared awake. "C'mon," he whispered. "We're going to call your mom and dad."

The boy perked up and rubbed his eyes. Not recognizing anything, he let Tony pick him up and carry him. "Agent Nozzo?"

"Call me Tony."

The young boy was unsure at first, but liked being able to call an adult by his first name. "Okay, Tony. You're bleeding."

Tony touched his temple and felt the sticky coolness of the half dried blood covering the side of his face. "It's nothing. I've had worse cuts working out with Agent David," he smiled. Kayla walked next to him and put on a good face of bravery, but her eyes betrayed her and Tony laid a hand on her shoulder. For the first time since they jumped from the bedroom window, the young girl managed a half meaningful smile in return.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked.

"Some would argue that I'm never okay," he answered with a wry grin, and followed it with a wink.

She smiled bigger this time, and they made their way to the phone booth that was anchored flat up against a brick building. The sounds of the slow moving cars as they drove through the red-light district made him uncomfortable, like he was the meat for which the hyenas were waiting. Putting Jared on the ground, he fished in his pocket for some change and plopped it into the slot.

The phone in the bullpen rang and time seemed to freeze. Vance and Jackie stepped forward and Ziva and McGee stood in anticipation. Gibbs punched the speaker button, "Yeah?"

"Boss, it's me. You guys okay?"

McGee started clicking away on his keyboard, tracing the call.

"Yeah, we're fine—"

"How 'bout the Director and Mrs. Vance?

Vance cut in, "—Yeah, we're fine too— How are my children, Agent DiNozzo?"

But Tony didn't hear the question as he had already handed the receiver to Jared.

"Daddy?"

"Jared!" Vance breathed a sigh of relief, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but Agent Nozzo—I mean, Tony, is hurt."

"Baby!" Jackie said, her voice cracking for the first time.

"Mommy!"

"Jared, baby, where's Kayla?"

"She's standing right here." He handed the phone to his sister.

"Mom?" Kayla said, but before she could say anything more, she noticed that Tony's expression suddenly changed. He had been watching a black SUV pull slowly up to the curb about a city block away, and it didn't feel right to him. When the door opened and he saw the muscle emerge, he grabbed Kayla's arm and shouted, "Let's go!"

She dropped the receiver and ducked just as the booth shattered into a pile of metal, glass, and telephone debris.

"STAY DOWN!" Tony ordered as he threw Jared at his sister and raced into the boulevard, forcing a late model sports car to slam on its brakes to avoid hitting him. The bloodied agent flashed his badge and dragged the man out of his car. He jumped in and sped up on the curb, shielding the children with the vehicle. Pushing open the door, he shouted, "GET IN!"

The door hadn't fully closed behind them before Tony was flooring it and sending out clouds of smoke and dust into the air as the wide mag wheels hugged the asphalt and gained momentum.

The receiver continued to dangle, leaving the party on the other end to stare at each other in utter disbelief.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Break

Ziva had spent the last hour calming Mrs. Vance, not something she felt particularly qualified to do. But the mother was ready to take up arms and storm DaVoodi's home, blasting her way to her children. Ziva had to hand it to her, she had spirit. With the help of Ducky, she was able to slip a small amount of a mild sedative into her coffee, and the woman was now resting peacefully on the sofa in her husband's office. Ziva and Ducky stood, admiring their work, until Director Vance entered, at which time they left, allowing him some privacy with his distraught wife.

"Did you get a fix on that phone booth, McGee?" Ziva asked.

Fornell and Sachs entered the bullpen right behind her and Fornell said, "That may not be necessary. The guy whose car got commandeered by Agent DiNotzo called it in. He said, and I quote, 'some white dude covered in blood flashed a police badge and dragged me out of my car. He and two black kids took off in MY CAR!' "

"Were they hurt?" Vance asked from the balcony.

"He didn't say. We sent an agent over to check it out, but the phone booth was completely destroyed."

"Where were they?" McGee asked.

"Baltimore, way over on 32nd Street. We got DiNotzo's car and we're towing it in now." He turned to Gibbs and repeated, "If you have any idea where he'd go, now's a good time to tell us."

Gibbs stared, knowing that some answers to questions were never as simple as they seemed. He allowed the awkward silence to linger, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Finally, he replied, "Even if I did know, Fornell, I wouldn't tell you. The best chance they have at staying alive is doing exactly what they're doing."

Sachs opened his mouth, attempting to protest the subterfuge, but a hand from Fornell stopped him. A frustrated and lengthy sigh could be heard in the silence. Yes, on some level, they all knew that. It was hard to hear, and even harder to understand, but it was none-the-less the sad and painful truth.

Chapter Break

DiNozzo pulled over, he was bone tired and the adrenaline had long since worn off, allowing him to feel every inch of pain now present in his body. Kayla and Jared were asleep, and he needed to come up with a plan. It was late Tuesday night and he had to make it until Friday. That wouldn't be such an impossible task if it were just him, but he had two kids with him. How was he going to take care of two children and outrun the Mafia? "Good question, Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. Now find an answer," he whispered to himself.

Tina! Her face popped into his head from out of nowhere. "Tina!" She was a woman he'd arrested four years earlier, but she wasn't the usual criminal; she was a high class call girl and sparks had flown between them from the first time he laid eyes on her, even while he was arresting her. Ziva had even felt their attraction towards each other, and never missed an opportunity to comment on it from time to time. Tina had received a suspended sentence and then up and moved to Baltimore City, not too far from where they were now, to take a job with an escort service. He'd visited her once, but it was too risky, for both of them, so they mutually called it off. Now, if he could only remember where, exactly, she lived.

He wound his way around the city to the high rent district. Pockets of very wealthy homes dotted the landscape of eastern Baltimore, and he remembered that she lived an opulent lifestyle in an equally opulent penthouse apartment. He pulled into an underground parking garage and was granted entrance by the attendant after he flashed his badge, being careful not to put himself too far into the guard's line of vision. Once inside he parked and cut the engine. He'd found the building, now it was just a question of whether she was still living here.

"Kayla, wake up. Kayla?" Tony pushed gently on her shoulder.

"Yeah?" a groggy voice replied.

"I think I found a place where we can stay. Let's go." He lifted Jared over his shoulder and they made their way to the elevator. He pressed the button on the panel and prayed the elevator wouldn't stop along the way. The Gods were with him because it didn't, at least not until they had reached the eleventh floor. They stood in front of an apartment door staring at it. Finally, he knocked quietly several times. Eventually, he heard some noise and once again caught himself praying that she still lived here. They heard several locks unbolting, and a few chains sliding off, and then the door swung open.

And there she stood, wearing a blue satin robe tied neatly at her thin waist, with her long auburn hair falling gracefully over her shoulders and her penetrating green eyes inviting him inside. She was as alluring and as beautiful as he had remembered, and the sparks were still there.

"Hi, Tina," he smiled awkwardly but genuinely glad to see her, "I hope we're not disturbing anything, but can we come in?" He didn't wait for an answer as he pushed Kayla through first and he shuffled in behind, closing and bolting the door.

She stared at them, the battered agent with a small black boy draped over his shoulder and a young girl standing next to him. She had reserved a spot in her heart for this federal agent, and, she held onto a well kept secret: she also had a soft spot for children. Gracing him with one of her seductive smiles, she simply said, "You finally come to your senses?"

"I wish that were the case," he honestly replied. "We're in trouble and we need a place to lay low."

Being one who spent the better part of her life in trouble, she led them to a library right off the living room. "Stay here, I need to wrap things up." Through the closed glass paneled door, he heard the disappointing sound of a man's voice, and then the front door closing again. Five minutes later, she had returned, and almost laughed at DiNozzo's pleading expression.

She chuckled, "Would you like me to take him?"

He was most appreciative as she took the young boy off his shoulder. Too heavy for her to carry, she guided him away, with his sister following close behind. Thirty minutes later, and after a quick bath, Kayla and Jared were fast asleep in a queen sized bed in her guest room, and she was able to turn her attention to the handsome man. "You realize you've cost me a thousand dollar a night client?"

"Why are you still doing this?"

"It's what I know. You and I are a lot alike that way. We do what we're good at."

He couldn't help but admire her matter of fact analysis of their lives.

"Enough of that talk. Look at you! I don't want to know what happened, but I do want to get you cleaned up." The cut on the side of his head was long and deep and went from his left eye brow to above his ear. He was also bleeding from a hole in his leg where a bullet had passed through and exited out the back of his thigh. She handed him three aspirin and a glass of water and tossed a towel his way, "I'll see you when you get out."

The shower felt good; the bed even better. But her soft lips against his were indescribably satisfying. Here it was 3:30 in the morning and he was lying next to a beautiful woman in a lavishly decorated apartment. Under different circumstances, he might have thought he was living the perfect life.

"That's what it's like when you've found your soul mate," she whispered into his ear.

"What?"

"Don't you feel it? It's like we've never been apart. It's been four years since we've seen each other, but I feel like it was just last week that we spent that wonderfully passionate night together."

He touched her face, agreeing with everything she'd said. She had a way of relaxing him like no other woman could do. He lost himself in another one of her kisses and for the next hour, nothing existed… no mafia, no children, no running, no pain, no nothing, just the hot fiery love that they both had mastered over four years ago.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Break: Wednesday Morning

Sachs seated himself across from Ziva at DiNozzo's desk while M. Allison Hart leaned against the file cabinet. "I still think Leon and his wife should go into protective custody," she argued. "It's the only way to fully protect them."

McGee replied, "You read the report. DaVoodi isn't interested in being charged with another murder; he wants completely off. He wants the Director and Mrs. Vance to _change_ their story so there isn't a case against him."

Hart sighed, frustrated at the turn of events. Sachs leaned forward and asked, "Agent David, where would DiNozzo go?"

She tossed a glance towards her boss before answering, "It's like Gibbs said, I can tell you where he wouldn't go, but the country's at his fingertips."

"Okay, where wouldn't he go?"

Fornell leaned back on Gibbs' desk, enjoying the brain storming and wondering how long his agent was going to press the Mossad officer for information.

"The obvious places: his apartment, my apartment, McGee's apartment, Gibbs' place, or back here. He knows that they'll be watching those spots."

Sachs pondered that a moment and then asked, "Where would _you_ go?"

David didn't hesitate, "I wouldn't know until I was there. The thing about the Mafia is that they're a lot like the Jerusalem Network: they have eyes everywhere. I wouldn't set out for one place…. I'd think just far enough ahead so no one could second guess me."

Hart interjected, "It's one thing to only have to hide yourself, and quite another to have to hide yourself plus two children."

Unbeknownst to them, Vance was standing on the platform, and added, "And can he keep it up for three more days?"

McGee hung up his phone and said, "They brought in Tony's car late last night and Abby emailed me the preliminary report. The blood in the car is definitely Tony's. It appears that he smacked his head on the driver's side window when he was hit. The car that T-boned him is a match to the one that landed in the RV. It also looks like Tony may have taken a bullet in the leg. No other blood except that. We have a BOLO out on the car he commandeered, but so far no luck."

Hart proposed, "Gibbs, why don't you go out and try to look for him. If he knows you're out there, he'll surely find you."

M. Allison Hart may be a very good trial lawyer, but she was a lousy detective. The agents looked at one another if for no other reason than to decide which one of them could be kind with an answer. Since Fornell was the Mafia expert, he was silently elected to educate the Ivy Leaguer. He pushed off the desk and patiently explained, "Gibbs is being watched more than any of the rest of us. He can't piss without it being reported back to Testidori. They would just love us to be dumb enough to try and draw Agent DiNotzo out like that."

Hart was struck by something he'd said. "Are you saying that we're all being tailed?"

Ziva nodded. "The next time you get in your car, check your rearview mirror. You'll see a dark colored sedan with two well dressed men pull in behind you."

She paled at the thought and Sachs added, "Don't worry, they aren't after you. They just want the children. But just to be safe, don't do anything to piss them off."

Chapter Break

Tony woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon. He lay in bed a little longer, feeling the bandage across his forehead and touching the one around his thigh. It took him a good five minutes to work the kinks and stiffness out of his joints, and another five to pull on his clothes and then he followed the aroma to the kitchen where Kayla ran to him and jumped in his arms and held him with all her strength. "Hey, what's the matter?"

Tina answered, "She's been wanting to wake you since early this morning. I've managed to keep her at bay so you could sleep, but it's been a challenging task."

Jared had also jumped up to stand next to the tall man and Tony put his hand on his shoulder and winked. "Go on back and finish eating… go on." He guided Jared back to his stool but couldn't lift him up because Kayla wouldn't let go of his arm. He gently unlocked her fingers and stared down into her large brown eyes, "Kayla, we're safe here. We'll call your mom and dad and let them know that everything's okay."

Tina watched him with the two children and marveled at his ways. He was as good with them as he was with her. He had a way of making everything seem okay.

Through breakfast, Tony contemplated his fate. It was just a matter of time before someone spotted the car he'd hijacked. On top of that, his years of chasing terrorist taught him at least one thing, and that was the criminals that were hardest to catch never stayed in one place for too long, which meant it was time to move on. He looked down, and it didn't matter which side he looked, there was always a kid next to him. When he looked up at his beautiful friend, she was just smiling.

"What?"

"Never took you for the family type."

"It helps that I missed the midnight feedings and diaper changes."

"And you haven't had to tackle the teenage years."

He nodded in agreement, but he was weary and it showed. He'd taken another series of headache pills and blood dotted the gauze around his head and even more blood soaked through the gauze around his leg. And he ached. He was way too old to be jumping out of second story windows anymore. The doorbell rang and Tony was immediately up; his weapon drawn.

"Relax," she said. "I took the liberty of having my personal shopper bring over some things."

Tony furrowed his brow at the comment. "Personal shopper?"

She winked and smiled, knowing his history with personal shoppers.

Three hours later, all three were wearing brand new clothes. Kayla had loved modeling the dresses and tried on every article of clothing that Michel had brought in her size. Jared, however, took the first pair of pants and shirt that fit him, not being much for this sort of thing. From dresses to underwear, they wore brand new everything. When the excitement of all the new clothes had worn off, Tony observed a sadness descend over the children. He picked up Kayla's chin and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Why are they after us?"

For the first time, Tony realized that neither Kayla nor Jared knew that their parents had witnessed a murder. After a series of carefully worded questioned, he explained the situation to them and asked if they were up for the next three days. "Kayla, I can't do this alone. I need your help. Jared needs your help."

Kayla put on a strong face, reminding Tony of her mother. "Sure. I can do it."

"How 'bout you, Jared? You up for what it takes to beat these bad guys?"

Jared nodded, and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Yeah, I can do it too."

Tony rubbed his head and replied, "I know you guys can." But deep in the crevices of his brain, he had his doubts.

He held Tina in his arms while Kayla and Jared were in the other room watching TV. She looked up at him and asked, "Why couldn't we have met before we were too deep into our respective careers?"

"I don't know. But if you ever decide to go straight…"

"And if you ever decide to give up being a Federal Agent…"

They kissed passionately and Tony had second thoughts about leaving. He felt safe here, and he had someone who could help him with the children. Even before the kiss had ended, he teased, "I think I'll resign my job as a Federal Agent."

She laughed and hugged him. "Maybe I'll try to go straight."

Becoming serious, he asked, "You remember what to do?"

"Yes, I remember. You should know that I'm not at all thrilled about showing up to a federal building given my delicate line of work."

"Trust me, they're not at all interested in you."

"Maybe not NCIS, but Agent Fornell is a different story."

"As long as Gibbs is around, you'll be safe from the FBI."

"Maybe, but what about your director? I'm not too sure how he's going to feel about me taking care of his children."

Tony stretched his leg, trying to work out the stiffness, "It's not you he'll be pissed at." As thoughts of Kayla shooting his gun entered his brain, he added, "If I come out of this alive, I'm sure he'll toss my butt back onto a carrier, but that's a dilemma for another time. Right now, I have to outrun and out maneuver the Mafia for another three days."

She turned his head back towards her and kissed him again, more passionately than before. When she pulled away, she whispered, "Worry about yourself and those kids. Don't let anything happen to you. And when this is all over, come back and visit. The light's always on for you."

Her perfume lingered in the elevator as the three rode it down. He experienced a brief moment of panic and thought about turning around. Her place was safe and the children were well cared for, but he knew better than to put her, and everyone else in the building, at risk. The doors opened in the garage and Tony cautiously peered into the dim light. For obvious reasons, he'd purposely waited until nightfall to leave. Jared took his hand and they walked slowly towards their hijacked sports car, but movement caught Tony's eye and he turned to see a dark sedan creeping slowly towards them. He grabbed Kayla and flattened himself against the darkened wall, but it was too late. The long barrel of a rifle slid out of the passenger window. He ducked just in time to avoid a slug being drilled through his brains. "RUN!"

He hauled Jared up into his arms while pushing Kayla forward. They ran out a side entrance and onto the street above. As they raced down the sidewalk, Tony ducked into an alley, grabbing Kayla's arm at the last second and jerking her in behind. He tossed Jared into a dumpster and ordered, "Hide yourself under trash! And be quiet!" Then he hoisted Kayla up onto a fire escape and hissed, "Stay down and quiet. If I don't make it back, go back to Tina's!" Tony sprinted towards the back of the alley and waited until he was certain they saw him. Then he proceeded to lead them away from the alley, but he was not prepared for the second dark sedan to come barreling down on him.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

_**Again, many thanks for those who are commenting. It helps me to keep writing and gets me excited to post more. Happy most are enjoying it! ~Jasmine**_

Chapter Break: WEDNESDAY night

"Excuse me, Agent Gibbs," the officer interrupted, "there's a woman here to see you."

Once again, the bull pen was full of people. There was no evidence to process, nor bodies to autopsy, so Abby, Ducky and Palmer were lingering around, listening to the progress of the case and worrying about their colleague. To appease everyone's appetite, they had ordered Chinese food and the half empty wax boxes with wire handles filled the desks. Ziva, McGee and Sachs raised an eye at the unexpected announcement while Vance put down his barely touched box of Lo Mein.

Gibbs and Fornell almost simultaneously said, "Who is it?"

The guard shrugged, but added, "She says she has information about Agent DiNozzo."

Fornell pushed off the desk first and said, "Don't just stand there. Bring her up!"

She walked off the elevator like a model walking down a runway. On her feet, she wore four inch stilettos by Gucci that lead to well toned and shapely calves. That was interrupted by a knee length white mink coat that fit perfectly around her slim body. The turned up collar forced her wavy raven colored hair around her face, framing her plump lips, clear skin and deep green eyes. She was, by all accounts, stunning and graceful, and right now, the bearer of important information. Being less interested in the messenger than the message, Gibbs pointedly asked, "You said you have information on one of my agents. What is it?"

She looked around at the people, lingering a moment longer on the brown eyed brunette, but outright stopping when she spotted FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell. She acknowledged his presence with a raised brow before saying, "That's right, I do. But before I start answering your questions, I'd like some assurances that I will walk out of here as easily as I walked in."

"I'll personally escort you."

She smiled and acknowledged the chair that Sachs had vacated for her, although she would never know that it was Tony's desk where she would sit. Handing her coat to the young FBI agent, she slid into the chair effortlessly, being the pro that she was in working a room full of men. However, she quickly abandoned her feminine wiles when a weary dark skinned woman caught her attention. Tina could tell by her pained expression that she was the mother. Pangs of sympathy pulled at her heartstrings and she stood, walking up to her and taking her hands in hers, she said, "Your children are well. Tony wanted to make sure you knew that."

Mrs. Vance stared at this woman who didn't look like someone who could deliver such a message.

Tina guided her to her chair and let her sit down. Still holding her hand, she looked from the FBI agents to the NCIS agents and back again, "Let me explain: My name is Tina—just Tina. Tony and I know each other from… awhile back. He asked me to come here tonight and tell you that your children are fine."

Vance and his wife exchanged grateful smiles but whereas Jackie was relieved, Leon Vance still had many more questions.

"What about Tony?" Ziva asked.

"He's okay. Took a nasty hit on the head, which probably needs stitches, and he took a bullet in his leg, but it went straight through. Other than that, and the kids, he's okay."

"What do you mean by that, 'and the kids'?" McGee asked.

She smiled at the memory of Tony taking care of the children and said, "He's a bachelor, not exactly accustomed to taking care of children. And these kids won't let him out of their sight; especially the young girl, Kayla. But he's as good with them as I've ever seen a man be with children. I have to say, that I had never seen that side of my federal agent before." She paused a moment and added, "Anyway, I think he came to me because he needed a break… he needed some sleep, and, like I said, he's pretty banged up."

Tony had more than he'd ever bargained for when he took off with two children in tow, and everyone knew it.

Ziva regarded her cautiously, remembering her, and feeling a grain of gratitude towards her for taking in Tony and taking care of him. But that gratitude was also tainted with a tinge of jealousy when she asked, "Do you know where he's going?"

She shook her head, "I don't think even he knows."

Mrs. Vance smiled thankfully but still needed reassurance, "My children? You said they were okay?"

"Yes, Kayla and Jared are fine. They prefer to be right next to Tony, but there's not so much as a scratch on either one of them. He does a better job at protecting them than he does himself."

"But he's okay?" she asked, just needing to hear it again, "isn't he?"

Tina placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and lied, "Yes, Tony is okay. He's got some injuries, but nothing too serious." She looked around at the agents, who continued to look skeptically at her, and decided there was nothing more that she could say. Not wanting to hang out in a federal building any longer than necessary and having said what she'd come to say, she picked up her fur coat and said, "Well, gentlemen and ladies, if you don't mind, I think I'll be going."

Sachs stopped her exit, "Ma'am, if you don't mind my asking, how do you know Agent DiNozzo?"

"He arrested me."

Palmer gave Abby a slight nudge and mumbled, "That's our Tony."

Fornell smiled at her answer and enjoyed watching his colleague's reaction to it. He shared a history with this woman, too, but she was far more valuable to him on the street than off.

Not having heard the brief conversation due to a phone call, Gibbs hung up just as she was approaching the elevator and yelled, "Tina? Tina!"

She turned back around.

"That call just now… they found the sports car that Tony took. It's parked in an underground parking garage in Baltimore City."

It was evident she was getting nervous, but it wasn't so much for Tony and the children as it was that she didn't want the police to know where she now resided and decide to raid her very lucrative business. "So?"

Fornell took her arm protectively and said, "We're not interested in you, Tina, we just want to locate Agent DiNotzo and the children. Will you take us to the car?"

Hearing the worry in his voice, she realized the severity of the situation, and gave him a slight nod.

Vance, Gibbs, and Fornell stood over the bodies while Ducky and Palmer examined them. They were wrapping up the preliminary findings on the last body when Gibbs asked, "How'd they die, Ducky?"

"Well, it appears as though they all died the same way, from small flying projectiles, otherwise known as bullets."

"Can you identify the gun?"

"At this point, all I can say is it was a semi-automatic." Ducky and Palmer rolled one of the victims over and there on the bloodied sidewalk was an NCIS standard issued semi-automatic SIG-Sauer P228; the same gun that Tony carried.

Gibbs rubbed a hand over his face and focused his thoughts. At this point, what he knew was that his agent was on the run with two kids and was now unarmed. Little did he know that wasn't the worst news of the night.

"Agent Fornell?" a uniformed policeman called.

Tobias turned and waited for the officer to approach. The cop was followed by a craggy old man wearing clothes several sizes too big, two different shoes, days' worth of facial growth, and hair sticking out from under a torn knit cap. He nervously fumbled with his fingers as the filthy digits poked through holes in his gloves. The officer stepped aside and said, "This man says he saw what happened."

"Yeah, dat's right, I saw it all," the man's breathe reeked of Jim Beam and he seemed a little too eager to tell his story.

Gibbs stepped forward, "What'd ya see?"

"I saw it all. I was settlin' in for tha nigh' behind them boxes ov'r thar and this fella runs into tha alley wif two kids. I notice 'em right away 'cause this fella, he was white, ya see, and them kids, they was black, ya see, and I wondered wha' a white fella was doing wif a couple of black kids, ya know I mean?"

Fornell nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"Well, he put one of them kids in tha' dumpster, right 'chere, and dat other one he put up on dat escape, righ' thar. And he rans pas' me to tha end of tha alley, down thar. Then, from outta nowhere, comes this car and four big fellas, they grab this young fellar, and they wanna know where them kids are, ya see? And I ain't never seen nothin' like it but they start beatin' this fellar, but he ain't tellin' them nothin', ya see? So they keep beatin' him and I thought they'd kil't him when one of thems pulls a gun like he was fixin' to shoot him! Ya know what I'm sayin'? But then I sees dat black girl crawl down dat thar fire escape and yells down tha alley and gets thar attention."

The flow of blood drained from Vance's face and Gibbs felt the subtle change in his director. Speaking directly to the old man, Gibbs toned, "What happened next?"

"Well, tha damnest thang happen'd. This white fellar, the one they beat half t' death, moved faster than I 'ver seen anyone move b'fore and shot 'em all, wif thar own gun! Ya see what I'm sayin'? He kil't them all, four shots and them was all laying on tha ground dead, yessir, thay was dead a'right! Ya see wha' I'm sayin'?"

"Yeah, yeah, we see what you're saying," Sachs said. "Were the children okay?"

"Oh, yeah, thay was fine, but dat fella… he twern't good, he was in bad shape… thay really work'd him ov'r."

"Which way did he go?"

"Dun't know. I was b'hind them thar boxes and cudn't see too good dat way."

Vance needed more assurance and repeated, "The children, they seemed to be okay when you saw them?"

"Yeah, yeah, like I say, thay tweren't hurt none… and dat little girl, she grabbed on to dat fella and tweren't let go. So did dat 'ittle boy. Dat's when I know'd he wadn't gonna hurt them two youngun's none…"

The police escorted the homeless man back to a squad car and gave him some coffee for his trouble. Gibbs stood next to Vance, while McGee and Ziva shared a worried look. Tina walked up to Fornell and asked, "Is Tony okay?"

"Not as okay as when he left your apartment."

"What about the children, Kayla and Jared?"

"They're fine. Did Agent DiNotzo say anything to you about where he was going?"

"No. He told me the fewer people who knew his whereabouts, the safer everyone would be." She worriedly looked at the FBI agent and lowered her voice, "Are they going to make it, Fornell?"

Vance turned to look at him as did the others. Fornell felt the fate of this federal agent and those children laid in his words, but it was Gibbs who gave him his answer. He plastered on a half hearted smile and nodded, "I'd bet my life on it."

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Break

Tony leaned heavily against the building.

"Are you okay?" Kayla asked.

"Just tired." Tony sputtered, catching his breath and wiping some blood off his lips. He did a quick assessment: kids were okay, he was not, and he no longer had his gun. With great reluctance, Jared let go of Tony's hand and stared at him. Even at his young age, he sensed things were bad. Seeing his sister's expression only confirmed it.

Kayla looked up at him again and asked, "Where're we going?"

That was the million dollar question. Where could they go? It was easier to say where they couldn't go than where they could go. But in the back of his brain, he had an idea. It didn't seem practical four hours ago, but now that Testidori had men all over the city, it seemed like the only logical thing to do: They had to get the hell out of Dodge. "Kayla? You ever drive a car before?"

She looked astonished at the question and shook his head, "I'm not even 13 years old! Besides, my mom—"

"—would kill you?"

She and Tony shared a slight smile and he said, "You stay here and watch Jared. I'll be right back."

Ten minutes later, Tony pulled up to the curb and motioned to Kayla. She and Jared crawled into the front seat of a 1983 Chevy Pickup and he drove slowly off. "Are you okay?" Jared asked, again.

He lied, "Sure I am. I'm not that easy to take down."

"But your leg is bleeding and your head and face are bleeding, and your eyes are black and red. And your—"

"Alright—I get it. I look pretty bad."

"You look like Sonny the Bull."

"Who?"

"Sonny the Bull. That's who my dad knocked out to win the middle weight boxing championship in Chicago a long time ago."

"Well, I'm not Sonny the Bull, haven't been knocked out, and don't plan on losing this fight. Don't you worry about me, I'll be fine." He patted Jared's leg and the boy scooted up closer against him. Within minutes he had drifted off to sleep.

Kayla knew better than to ask where he'd gotten the car, besides, she already knew. "Tony?"

The bloodied agent looked over, "Yeah?"

"I thought they were going to kill you back there."

"Me? Are you kidding? It takes more than a few mobsters to take this Very Special Federal Agent down." He forced a smile, and stole a glance her way, immediately sensing that she didn't buy his words. "But you, Missy. What you did was very brave… but also very stupid."

She looked embarrassed.

"Listen, you know that I can't do this alone, right? I can't keep myself alive and you and Jared out of DaVoodi's hands by myself. But, you and me together, well, we can do it. We can make it, I know we can."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. But you have to promise me something. And this is very important. You have to promise me that if something does happen to me, that you'll take care of Jared and not let Testidori get his hands on you."

She looked down at her hands in her lap, wondering if she could make such a promise.

"Kayla, Testidori won't let you live to tell about all this. So you have to promise me right now that you won't do anything like that again. If not for me, than for Jared."

After a moment to think about it, she nodded in agreement, feeling like she'd aged five years in the last five hours.

"Good," Tony replied, glad to have some weight lifted off his shoulders. "I have a plan to keep us out of sight for the next two days. You like the movies?"

Chapter Break Late WEDNESDAY night

Tony didn't know how Jared slept through it all, but there was obviously some sleep mechanism in the brain of eight year olds that enabled them to sleep through anything. After forty-five minutes, Kayla was doing much better at driving the pickup. He could barely see out of his left eye, which meant he had no depth perception, and his head was splitting, but if they didn't put some miles between them and DaVoodi's men, he wasn't going to have to worry about his headache. And since driving was proving challenging for him, the only way to put those miles between them was to see if Kayla could get them there. So far, so good. After he pulled the seat up as far as it could go and shoved an old plastic tarp behind her, she could actually reach the peddles and see over the steering wheel, really the only pre-requisites to driving that he felt were important. She drove west, on a two lane straight-away, and kept her speed steady and the wheels straight. It was enough to allow him to doze and gather some strength. A sudden stop woke him up, "What's wrong?"

"I have to go to the bathroom."

Tony blinked, trying to wake up his fuzzy brain and comprehend the situation. He saw that she had stopped dead in the middle of the road "Okay. Pull over and you can go outside." He rubbed his tongue over his teeth, noticing for the first time that he still had them all.

"I don't want to go outside. Can't we find a bathroom?"

He squinted at her in the darkness, but her tone did more than suggest that she wasn't going to be content until she found a real bathroom. "Okay. Change places with me and I'll see if I can't find a restaurant, or something."

She wriggled over him and said, "You'd better do it fast cuz I'm not sure how long I can hold it."

They sat in the darkness staring at the motel.

"Are we going to get a room, or just stare at it?"

"Very funny." But the fact of matter was, Tony wasn't sure how he was going to get the clerk at the motel to rent him a room. Both of his eyes were quite black and blue, and his left eye was swollen shut. His lip was split and, in addition to the cut on the left side of his head, he was now sporting a gash over his right eye. Add to that several cracked ribs and two black children, and he was a phone call away from being hauled off to the slammer. They would just have to avoid the clerk. Tony parked at a gas station and held tightly onto Jared and Kayla's hands as they crossed the street.

"Where are we going?" Jared asked.

"I'm finding us a bathroom."

Kayla stared at Tony as he pulled out a leather pouch and proceeded to thumb through several long pieces of metal.

He tried to concentrate, but her glare was penetrating. She had a knack for making him question his actions. "What?" he asked.

"Why don't we just pay for a room?"

"Do you see what I look like? It's not likely they'll give us one."

"I can go in and ask."

Tony inserted the tools and worked them around, "Not likely. They see two children in the custody of a beat up white guy and I can guarantee you the cops will be here before they hand us a key."

"I can tell them you're my uncle."

Tony twisted and heard the tumblers fall, "Finally!" He pushed open the door and ushered the children in. "Use the bathroom but don't turn on any lights. Got that?

"Yeah."

"Hey, Kayla? Let's keep the fact that we broke in our little secret. Your mom doesn't need to know, okay?"

Kayla had already found the tiny bathroom and was closing the door when she replied, "Got it."

In the darkness, Tony fumbled around until he found the bed. "Do you have to use the bathroom, Jared?"

"No."

Tony looked at him, "No?"

"I went in the trash."

Tony shrugged, "Good idea. Take off your shoes and socks, and pants and get into bed."

"Okay." Jared did as he was told. "Are you coming to bed?"

"In a little bit." He walked to the bathroom door and rapped quietly, "Kayla? You okay?" He heard her blow her nose and then the door slowly opened.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Tony stooped down on one knee and turned her so he could see her face. In the dim light, he could tell she had been crying. "What's wrong?"

"I want to go home."

Sometimes, it was easy to forget that she was still just a little girl. "I know you do. So do I." And then she wrapped her arms around his neck and clasped them firmly, not likely to let go anytime soon. She cried softly on his shoulder, and after what seemed like forever, she pulled back and rubbed her fingers under her eyes, wiping away her tears. "I'm sorry. I don't usually cry, but I miss my mom and dad."

Tony scooped her up and carried her to the bed. He sat down on the edge and she leaned against his leg. He knew all too well what it was like to miss your mother, and he even admitted to himself, father. He kissed her forehead and heard himself make a promise that he knew better than to make. "Kayla, I promise you'll see them again. Get a good night's sleep and before you know it, both you and Jared will be going home."

She brightened at the thought of seeing her parents again and crawled into bed. Tony pulled the covers over both children and then took a moment to stare down on them. What in the Hell had he gotten himself into? Who was he kidding thinking he could take care of two kids and prevent DaVoodi from getting his hands on them? _'Shut up, DiNozzo. Don't go down that road,'_ he silently chastised himself.

Turning away, he walked toward the only chair in the small room and stared at it as if he could intimidate it into being comfortable. He pulled it out from the corner in which it had been wedged and sunk down into it. Staring outside into the pitch black night, he tried to force the aches and pains that permeated his body to the far reaches of his brain. He suddenly remembered the promise he had made to Kayla just minutes earlier and decided he was going to keep that promise even if it killed him, which it most probably would.

Chapter Break

Ducky and Palmer looked up as Gibbs entered Autopsy. "What's ya got for me?"

Palmer picked up a tray and left, sensing that was the right thing to do. After the door shut behind him, Ducky answered, "All four men died from gunshot wounds. Abby's analyzing the bullets now."

"That all you got?"

Dr. Mallard shook his head and picked up one of the man's hands. "Each man has extensive bruising around his knuckles. There's also lots of blood and other fluids on their hands. When I look at their x-rays, I see indicators of previous breaks and fractures, which leads me to believe that these men were pros at what they did."

Gibbs looked at the bodies and exhaled. "I don't suppose the blood would be their own?"

"Not likely. I've sent it all up to Abby for analysis." Gibbs turned to leave and heard Ducky calling after him, "There's a saying, Gibbs. No news is good news."

He'd heard that before, but it didn't seem to make him feel any better.

The music was low when he entered her lab. "Abby, whad'ya got for me?"

She had been expecting him and had already in her hands a small jar. "These bullets all came from the same gun."

"Tony's?"

"Yes."

"What about the blood?"

The fluids off the men's hands, the blood and saliva, came from the same person."

"Tony?"

"Most likely. I'm still waiting for Mr. Mass Spec to do his thing, but my preliminary findings match Tony's DNA."

Gibbs wondered where Tony would go in his condition. "Are all the rounds of the gun accounted for?"

"Yes. Six bullets were missing from the pistol and six were recovered."

At least he was fairly confident that Tony wasn't shot, but there was no telling what state he was in. If the homeless man was to be believed, they worked him over pretty good. Where could he go in that condition with two children? Not many places, he thought.

"He's going to be okay, right?"

"Thanks, Abs."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Break

The morning sunlight shown through the slit in the curtain and Tony stirred. He hadn't expected to go to sleep, but he hadn't not expected to either. He used the bathroom and couldn't decide if he looked worse in his mind's eye, or in his actual reflection.

"Kayla?" he shook her gently. She rolled over and squinted, "Are we going home?"

"Not yet, but we have to get up and move. Get your brother up."

Tony peeked out the window and saw exactly what he didn't want to see: Housekeeping. He pulled his badge out and put it in his jacket, just in case she walked in. Keeping her from screaming when she saw him was the bigger issue, but then convincing her of his legitimacy would be a close second. If she called the cops, Testidori would be on them within minutes.

"We're ready to go."

Tony looked around and saw two bright eyed and well dressed kids. "So you are. We have a little problem." He pulled the curtain back just far enough for them to see the cart.

They heard the key as it jiggled in the door first, and before any of them could react, the room was flooded with sunshine. Tony stepped back into the shadows as the housekeeper stopped dead in her tracks, not expecting to see anyone.

"A mi Dios!"

Tony whipped out his badge and calmed the woman, "I'm Agent Anthony DiNozzo with NCIS. These children are in my protective custody. Please don't scream."

She pulled her hand away from her mouth and stared at his badge. "I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't expect anyone in this room. I was told it was empty last night."

"I asked the night clerk to keep it a secret." A thought came to him and he pulled out his phone. "Would you do me a favor?"

"Si, Senor."

"At six o'clock tonight, call the first number listed in this phone. Tell the man who answers that the children are safe. Then toss the phone into the dumpster out back. Do you understand?"

"Si."

"Are you sure? Don't do it before six o'clock tonight. Okay?"

She nodded.

"Good. Thank you." He nodded appreciatively and escorted the children outside and across the street.

"That was close," Jared said.

For some reason, Tony found his comment funny. It amused him that this eight year old boy would say something like that. "Yes, it was close. Let's just hope we don't have any more close calls like that one."

"Can we eat?"

Food? He hadn't had an appetite since he took on these two. And if it wasn't one of 'em needing a bathroom, it was one of em' wanting to eat. How do parents get anything done, he wondered. "Yeah, we'll find something." He helped them into the pickup and then achingly pulled himself in behind the wheel. His leg was throbbing and his arm was stiff, and his head was pounding, and his ribs were hurting, but as he looked over at his two wards, with nary a scratch and hungry stomachs, he figured everything was good. He cranked over the engine and forced the pain and agony he was feeling to the side for he had breakfast to serve.

He wasn't sure what town they were in and he didn't recognize anything. There wasn't so much as a city sign anywhere either. A few miles down the road he spied a small mom-n-pop grocery store that sported a breakfast sign. Through the windows, he could see a counter with a single man hovered over a plate of food. Once again, if he went inside looking the way he did, he ran the risk of the cops being called. A risk he wasn't willing to take.

"Listen Kayla, I need you to go in and order something to eat for you and Jared. Get me a cup of coffee, and some Tylenol. Get it all to-go. Here's twenty dollars."

She took the money and looked at him. She was tired of being grown up and it showed.

"Kayla? Just one more day, and it'll all be over with, and then you can go back doing whatever twelve year old girls do, and Jared can go back doing whatever eight year old boys do, and I can go back doing what I was doing, which in this case will be trying to explain to Danielle why I stood her up."

Kayla never thought about him having a girlfriend and asked, "Who's that?"

"Nevermind."

"Is she your girlfriend?"

"Not really. She could have been, but… I wouldn't mind seeing her again."

"Is she pretty?"

Tony studied her a beat. Then he smiled and whispered, "Not nearly as pretty as you."

She smiled back at him and scooted out of the truck. Ten minutes later she and Jared were back inside the cab and Tony was driving away, heading due west, again. He noticed she had more in the bag than food and Tylenol, and with just a quizzical look, he got her to pull out a plastic container.

"I saw this while we were waiting for our food." She held out a white box with a fat red plus sign emblazoned on the top. "It's a first aid kit. I thought you could use it."

Tony nudged her affectionately and said, "You're not only pretty, but smart too."

"Oh, brother," Jared whispered.

Tony rubbed the top of his head until the boy finally smiled up at him.

Chapter Break

The cleaning lady studied the phone. There was nothing on it that made it special. There was no lettering, no insignias, and nothing that identified it as belonging to the police. She made up the bed and tidied up the room, but it was when she picked up the bloodied towels in the bathroom that she paused and took issue with the mess. She tried to remember what the man looked like, but he had stood in the shadows of the room. The two children, though, looked fine, if not perhaps a little scared.

As she changed the sheets, she remembered the man's request. Suddenly, she felt like she shouldn't be handling this. She quickly finished cleaning, and then walked to the manager's office.

"Excuse me, Senor Wallace," she said, knowing how much her boss hated to be interrupted. He was never one to put on a clean shirt, preferring just an undershirt, which was always several sizes too small. And it repulsed her (as it did all the rest of the cleaning ladies) to see his belly hanging over his pants and his too tight t-shirt riding up, exposing a hairy stomach. She guessed that she hated talking to him more than he hated being interrupted, which is why she kept all communication with him to the absolute minimum.

"Huh?" he grunted.

She reached into her front pocket and pulled out a cell phone, "The man in room 22 gave this to me." She explained how she found him in the room with the two children and what his request was.

"I never rented that room!" he bellowed as he snatched the phone and eyed it, liking what he saw.

The housekeeper knew that he'd keep it, like he kept all items that made their way to the lost and found box, valuable or not. The staff knew better than to question the whereabouts of jewelry, money, and articles of clothing whenever the owners would return looking for them. When he realized she was still standing there, he waved her off like one might wave off a pestering gnat.

It wouldn't be until later that she would learn what a good decision it had been to turn the phone over to someone else.

Chapter Break

The alarm on his desktop computer alerted Timothy McGee that one of the many programs he was running had found something. He pulled himself away from the conversation in the bullpen in favor of his keyboard. "Boss? I think I have something."

Gibbs and Fornell approached his desk. "What?"

"I think I have a location on Tony's cellphone."

Perplexed, Ziva shared a worried look with Dr. Mallard.

Fornell asked, "You mean he turned it on?"

Tim stared intently at his screen. "Since Tony and the children disappeared, I've been running a short script that checks for Tony's GPS every thirty seconds. His phone was just activated."

"Where?"

He clicked some more on his keyboard, "I'm back tracing it now. It's…um.."

"McGee!"

"It's in Fairmont, West Virginia."

"How far away is that?"

"Three or four hours. It's past Morgantown."

"Can you pinpoint an exact location?"

Tim stared intently at his screen, pulling up and enlarging satellite images, "Yeah, the signal's coming from the Daily Double Motel on East Street.

"I can have my people there in an hour or so," Fornell said.

"Do it. Grab your gear!"

Chapter Break

Tony pulled into the parking lot of a rundown theater.

"Why are we here?" Kayla asked.

"I thought you said that you like to go to the movies?"

"I do. But usually we go to the nice theaters. What are we going to see?"

Tony could barely make out the lettering on the marquee, and his heart sank when he finally did. How was he going to sell this? "I don't think it really matters what's playing as long as we're inside and hidden in the darkness."

Jared squinted up at the sign and read, "Spa—gee-hee—tee—Wes—t-…"

"—Spaghetti Western Marathon," Kayla read.

Tony grinned and nodded, "Fun, huh! I haven't seen a good Western in weeks."

Kayla and Jared looked at him.

"C'mon, guys, these movies are classics. Some day you'll thank me for exposing you to cinematic masterpieces."

They continued to stare.

"All right. If you agree to watch these movies, when we get out of this mess, I promise I'll take you to see any movie you want."

"A 3-D movie?" Jared asked.

"Yes, a 3-D movie, a 4-D movie, any movie you want."

"Okay. But it'll have to be two movies because I don't like the same kind that he likes," Kayla pointed out.

"Agreed."

Tony handed over another twenty to Kayla and sent her up to the ticket booth. Another glance in the rear view mirror reminded him why he should stay in the dark. Shielding his eyes from the sun was a good way to cover his face, but he suspected the guy taking their tickets had seen it all since he barely looked up from the magazine he was reading to take them. That was just fine with Tony. He went to the restroom, cleaned himself off a little more and swallowed four Tylenol tablets. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but he easily found Kayla and Jared as there were only two other people in the theatre besides them. He sunk low into the squeaky red seat ready to watch Marlon Brando star in _The Appaloosa_, one of his favorites.

Then, from out of the quiet, he heard, "Where's the popcorn?"

Chapter Break

Fornell stretched his legs from the long drive and looked around. The motel was old and run down and was in dire need of a paint job and a sign repair. The small neon one out front read Da ly Do ble Mote . Strangely appropriate, he thought.

"Where're your men, Fornell?" Gibbs asked.

He looked around and then pulled out his phone. A few minutes later, he said, "The field office reports that they're here. Maybe they're inside."

"McGee, take a look around. Ziva, with me."

"Sachs, go with him. See if you can find Agents Morris and North."

Ziva opened the motel door and listened as the bells hanging from the ceiling clanked. "Hello?" she called out. The small reception area held a threadbare sofa and two stained chairs. The coffee table held an array of magazines, all of which (like the furniture) were dated decades ago. Ziva hit the silver bell on the counter and called out again, "Is anybody here?"

A voice that had smoked way too many cigars came from the back room. Ziva walked behind the counter and opened the door that lead to the rear of the house and said, "Excuse me. Is anyone here?"

"I'm back here!"

Fornell and Gibbs followed Ziva through the well lived in, yet not often cleaned, rooms until they spotted a man sitting in a double wide recliner.

Flashing his badge, Gibbs said, "Special Agent Gibbs and David, with NCIS. This is Special Agent Fornell, with the FBI. We're here to ask you some questions."

"It's about that damn phone, isn't it?"

Gibbs studied the man before answering, "What phone?"

"One of my maids brought me a phone this morning, and there's been nothing but trouble here since."

"What happened?"

"Good question. Where were you about an hour ago, when I needed some police protection?"

"From who?" Ziva asked.

"How the hell do I know!" he spat.

"Why don't we start at the beginning?" she said. "Who are you?"

"The name's Wallace, Roy Wallace. I'm the owner of this here establishment. Never had any problems in the fifteen years of running this place until now."

"Mr. Wallace," Fornell said, "have any FBI agents been here."

"I wish they had! Maybe those boys wouldn't have pushed me around the way they did!"

"Who pushed you around?" Gibbs asked.

"I don't know who they were! They were well dressed and looked like him." He ticked his head at Fornell.

"How'd they look like him?" Gibbs asked.

"They were all wearing them fancy suits and talking like they was standing in a five star hotel or something."

"What'd they want?"

"That phone, I tell ya! They came barging in here demanding to know where the man with the two children was."

"What did you tell them?" Ziva asked.

"Nothing! I didn't know what they were talking about!"

"How did you get the phone?"

"My maid brought it to me. She told me this weird story of some guy giving it to her. I didn't half pay attention to it."

Knowing the man had little to offer his investigation, Gibbs asked, "Where is your maid?"

"I don't know. I sent those men to talk to her."

Disgusted with this self-serving creep, Ziva started to say something, but Gibbs cut her off. "What's her name?"

"Maria. She's only been working here a couple of months. She's one of those immigrants."

As they exited the lobby, McGee saw them and yelled across the lot, "Boss! We found the FBI agents!"

Inside one of the motel rooms, the two agents had been bound and gagged. Fornell was relieved to see that they were relatively uninjured, and demanded, "What happened?"

Agent North explained, "We arrived here as directed and we were greeted by the manager. At least he identified himself as the manager. He brought us to this room and the next thing we remember is being woken up here by Agent Sachs."

Fornell said, "Testidori doesn't want us interfering. They must have followed the GPS signal like we did."

"Where's the maid, Maria?" Gibbs asked. "Ziva, find her."

McGee and Ziva left the small room in search of housekeeping. "What if she has left for the day?"

"Then we go to her house," McGee said, always the pragmatist.

They finally located her in a small break room, being comforted by another, much older, woman.

"Maria?" Ziva asked.

"Si, senorita."

Ziva flashed her badge and said, "I'm Agent David, this is Agent McGee, and we're with NCIS. Do you mind if we ask you some questions?"

"Are you not with those other men?"

"What other men?"

The older woman answered, "The ones who threatened her?"

"No, we're not with them. We're federal agents investigating a missing agent and two missing children. We think you might be able to help us."

After she nodded, they escorted her to Gibbs.

"Ma'am, it's important that you tell us everything you know," Ziva explained. "Please don't leave out anything."

She nodded, almost relieved that she was in the presence of federal agents instead of the Mafia. She had grown up in New York and knew the mafia when she saw them. "I was starting my rounds this morning, like I do every morning, when I opened up a room that was supposed to be empty. I was just making sure it was ready for any guests that might arrive this weekend. I was startled to see it was occupied. I knew Mr. Wallace didn't rent it because he gives us a list of all rented rooms, and this room, Room 22, was not on it. But they were standing right in front of me. The man, I didn't get a good look at him, but he said he was with some agency and these children were in his protective care. He then asked me to do him a favor. He handed me his phone and said for me to call the first number listed and tell the man who answers that the children are okay. He said to do this at six o'clock and then to toss the phone in the dumpster out back."

"How did your manager get the phone?"

"I became scared. When I started to clean the room, I found bloody towels in the bathroom. The children, they look okay, so I didn't know where all the blood had come from. Maybe the man, I don't know. So I took the phone to my manager and gave it to him."

"Did they say anything else?"

"No, Senor. They just got into a truck and drove away."

"A truck?"

"Si. A white pickup truck."

"Can you describe it?"

She gave a generic description of just about any standard sized work truck that's ever made, but it was better than nothing.

"Can you show us the room?"

"Si."

A few minutes later, they were standing in room 22, looking at nothing. Gibbs inspected the bathroom, but knew he wouldn't find anything there either. Tony was the best, and he'd never neglectfully leave anything behind. Gibbs ticked his head and left.

Ziva thanked the woman and followed. "Now what? He could be anywhere within a two hour radius."

Gibbs rubbed his chin, thinking. That's true, Tony could be anywhere within a two hour radius, and if he stuck to his plan, which was to have no plan, he could effectively disappear in that amount of space. But he was running with two children, and that would mean that he had to have had at least a modicum of an idea of what he was doing and where he was going.

"Fornell, how hard would it be to blanket the area with FBI agents?"

"Not too hard, given the circumstances."

"Let's do it. Look for a white pickup truck."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Break

Tony woke up when he felt a sharp pain in his arm. "What?" he groggily asked.

"You're snoring."

He blinked in the darkness and swallowed. How he had ever managed to fall asleep in that theatre seat was anybody's guess.

"You sound like my father when he's sleeping," Jared said.

At some point, the young boy crawled into the seat beside him and had wrapped his little arms around Tony's arm. Tony stretched and watched Clint Eastwood throw his poncho over his shoulder and chomp down on a stub of a cigar.

"The other movie ended a while ago," Kayla said. "I don't really like these movies."

Tony had to agree. Spaghetti Westerns were best taken in small doses with a hefty length of time in between. His pain medication had long since worn off and he debated on taking any more because they tended to cloud his thinking. But he was in pain and he ached. And he was tired. He unwrapped himself from Jared and scooted in front of Kayla and left. As soon as he opened the theater door, the hair on his neck began to prickle.

The sun was sinking and darkness was rapidly approaching. He peeked outside at the ticket guy, but the booth was empty. The voice in his head was screaming for him to grab the kids and leave, but the cop in him was inching closer and closer to the window. And then he saw what he dreaded the most. One of Testidori's goons was holding a gun to the ticket guy's head, and in the darkness, he saw the ticket guy pointing towards the theatre.

Tony raced back inside and hoisted Jared up into his arms and grabbed Kayla's hand.

"Hey! I thought we were going to stay here!" the boy cried.

"There's been a change in plans." With the children in tow, he headed for the side door, thinking it would deposit him in the back parking lot, but it didn't. It only led to a small hallway. The only door down the hallway opened into a back storage room, darkened because it doubled as the projectionist's room. Seated high on a platform next to the old fashioned projector should have been the projectionist, but from the looks of the empty chair, it appeared that he left the movie to run itself. Tony looked around; there were no exit doors, and the only window was high enough off the ground that a stool was needed to reach it. He locked the door and tilted a chair under the handle. If anyone tried to come in, at least it'd buy them a little time. Then he pushed a wooden crate over to the window and lifted the kids up. They pushed on the window but it didn't budge. Kayla found the latch holding it shut and tried to turn it, but it was rusted solid.

The voices were getting closer and it was just a matter of minutes before they were discovered. "Kayla, do you remember how I taught you to start that truck? Touching those wires together?"

She nodded.

"I need you to get to the truck and drive it back here. Can you do that?"

"I think so. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to try and keep these goons away from you. I don't want you to stop though. If I'm not outside when you drive by, keep driving and make sure you and Jared—" the voices were right outside the door now. The minute he broke the glass, they'd hear it. He grabbed some bubble wrap off the floor and wrapped it around his arm. Then he punched the window, breaking the glass, and quickly rubbing his arm around its perimeter to clear the jagged edges.

From the other side of the door, Tony heard one of them shout, "They're in here!"

He threw Jared out first, and then pushed Kayla through. "Stay close to the building in the darkness," he whispered, "and don't let anyone see you."

"What about you?" Kayla cried.

"I'll be right behind you. Go on!"

Tony dropped off the crate and wedged himself behind several stacked boxes. The door finally burst open, breaking the wooden chair into kindling. He could just barely make out the silhouette of one of the no-neck goons, who entered slowly, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkened room. The killer reached over and flipped a switch, but the light from the single bulb barely made a difference, but it was enough to see the broken window, and have the intended effect.

"Damnit!" the goon whispered from atop the crate. With the realization that the children had once more escaped, he shuddered at the thought of what Testidori was going to do to him when he learned how close they'd been to capturing them. He hopped off the crate and disappeared out the door.

Tony breathed a sigh of relief and extricated his body from his hiding place. He was stepping onto the crate when he heard the snarling voice, "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Tony froze, turning only his head to see. How was he going to fight a guy who was two inches taller, and at least thirty pounds heavier? He'd seen his partner do it many times, but she was Mossad trained; he was Peoria PD trained. "Take it easy there, Big Guy. I'd hate for you to suffer a heart attack on account of me."

"I'm gonna be a hero," the goon said while pulling out his gun and aiming. "When I take your cold dead body to Mr. Testidori, he's gonna promote me."

Tony stepped sideways, but so too did the goon. He just had to out maneuver him, but that wasn't such an easy thing to do with a hole in his leg, a partial hole in his arm, cracked ribs, and a headache to end all headaches. But Tony did know one piece of useless information that may be beneficial. Just before someone pulls the trigger, his pupils dilate. Timing was everything when your strategy relied on split second reactions.

Tony stared at the man's eyes, allowing him to inch closer and closer. The moment his pupils changed is when Tony lunged, catching the guy by surprise. The gun slid across the floor and they fought, but he was no match for the hired muscle.

Outside, Tony heard the rumbling of the old Chevy Pickup. It was now or never, he thought. He gave his opponent one final burst of energy and shoved him backwards over some boxes. Things were looking up as he raced for the window, but a shot rang out and he felt a hot burning rod searing through his back. He couldn't stop; he wouldn't stop. Not now, not being so close. The truck was almost by the window, and he had almost made it out when the goon grabbed his collar and pulled him backwards. He threw his head back, smacking him in the nose, but not being able to successfully free himself from the man's grip. Instead, he let his jacket be pulled off as he dove out the window. By the time the truck raced by, he could only grab hold of the tailgate and hang on. At some point, and he has no recollection of how he did it, he catapulted himself into the back bed, and bounced around on the ridged bottom as the driver sideswiped a car, jumped a curb, and barely missed a telephone poll.

How they escaped the clutches of Testodori's men is a mystery that may never be fully understood, but they did, with Kayla driving and Jared pointing the way. Tony tried to stay conscious, he wanted to take the wheel, but bouncing around the bed of the pickup took its toll, and eventually, the pain rendered him unconscious.

Chapter Break

Testidori stood in the doorway, fuming. "How the hell did they get away?" he demanded.

The no-neck goon looked stunned and was speechless. "I don't know how. I had him in here and…"

"And you let him escape!"

"Mr. Testidori?" another goon entered the storage room and said.

"What!"

"I just got a call from our informant at the FBI. He says that the FBI and NCIS are just minutes down the road."

"Great! Just what I need! Let's get the hell outa here!"

By the time the federal agencies had arrived, the local police were already parked in the lot with their lights swirling. Gibbs and Fornell flashed their badges and crossed under the taped off quadrant.

Ziva, McGee and Sachs started canvassing the area outside. They all wondered it, but none would say it: Did they get away, or had they been captured?

The main activity was centered in the small hallway outside the storage room. Gibbs asked the officer in charge, "What happened here?"

"Some sort of fight took place in the room here. There's blood on the boxes and on the ground, but no body."

"Who was involved?" Fornell asked.

"There weren't any eye witnesses except for the guy selling tickets, and even he didn't see anything."

"Did it involve a white man and two black children?" Fornell asked.

"Yeah, how'd you know that?"

"The man's a Federal Agent and the two children are in his custody. They're being chased by the Mafia."

"Oh Dear Lord," the officer said, pushing his hat back, and realizing the story just got bigger than his little town had ever seen before. He also realized that he no longer had jurisdiction over it, and that delighted him to no end.

"Ziva. McGee," Gibbs said, not bothering to explain what he wanted them to do.

"I'll bag the evidence and get it back to Abby," Ziva said.

"I'll interview the manager," McGee followed.

Fornell looked at Sachs, expectantly. Finally, Sachs caught on and stuttered, "I'll…I'll try to find more witnesses."

"Good."

Standing alone, Fornell asked the question everyone was thinking, "Do you think he got them?"

Gibbs stared, having already been asking himself that very question. Not bothering to supply an answer, he turned and walked away.

Chapter Break

The truck finally stopped when Kayla drove it into a ditch. She had followed Jared's orders and turned right onto a gravel road, but the gravel turned into dirt, and the dirt eventually turned into grass which hid the ensuing ditch. She looked annoyingly at her little brother, but he just looked out the front windshield like they were still driving.

"See if there's a flashlight in the glove compartment," she said, replacing her annoyance towards him for concern. He rummaged around the trash filled bin and pulled out a beat-up old black one and handed it over.

She crawled out of the cab and pulled herself up on the bumper of the truck bed and over the side. Reaching down she took the flashlight from Jared, and then helped him up. She then shown the light on Tony, and for the first time, they both realized that he might be dead.

Kayla knelt down beside him and shook him, "Tony? Wake up. Tony?" She felt something wet on her knee and almost dropped the flashlight when she saw the bright red blood. "Tony!" she cried in desperation. "Wake up!" she said pushing on his arm and shaking his body.

He stirred slowly, groggily, "Huh?" he whispered.

"You're bleeding."

The pain in his back reminded him that he'd been shot and he wondered how bad it was. When rational thought kicked in, he realized that if it had been bad, he'd be dead by now. The next question became how did he manage to survive being shot in the back? And where were they? And how far behind was Testidori? Too many questions and no one around to answer them. He shook his head, clearing the cobwebs and trying to formulate some thoughts. "How bad is it?"

With help, he rolled to his side and Kayla shown the light on his back. "I can't tell, but your shirt is covered in blood."

Tony moved his feet and toes and legs and determined that the bullet didn't hit his spine. Judging by the severe pain coming from his right shoulder blade, he decided the bullet was somewhere in that region. "Where are we?"

"I don't know. I followed Jared's finger."

Tony forced a smile at the image and touched the boy. "You doing okay?"

Unfortunately, he only got a nervous nod. He wondered how deep the scars were going to be for these kids after this was all over. But they had loving parents to go home to, and an unlimited supply of psychological help, if need be. But none of that would be a reality if they didn't keep moving. "I need to stop the bleeding. Kayla, take this cup and fill it with mud. Jared, look around the bed here for some rope or a rag."

Fifteen minutes later, Kayla had located the entry wound in Tony's back and had packed the mud over it. Then, Jared had pressed a plastic bag to the mud pack and used strips from an old shirt to secure it in place, crudely ebbing the loss of blood. "Okay, now help me up."

After what amounted to excruciating pain, he managed to get out of the bed of the truck. "We can't stay here," he hissed through clenched teeth. "Someone will find us and I suspect it will be one of the bad guys." Taking a minute to catch his breath, he eked out, "Search the truck for anything you think we might need and let's go."

Kayla and Jared left him lying on a grassy bank, his body throbbing from the effects Testidori's men had had on him these past couple of days. He tried to concentrate on their situation, which mainly consisted of not knowing anything. He didn't know where they were, or how bad he was injured. He didn't know how close DaVoodi's men were, or if the kids were going to be capable of continuing. And he was cold. On the plus side, the children were safe, at least for the moment.

They returned carrying a bag of supplies. Offering what little support they could, they helped him to his feet and together, the three of them followed the shallow water bed deeper into the woods.

Chapter Break

Testidori stood before Guido DaVoodi, waiting patiently for him to finish his caviar. Caviar was one of those delicacies for which Testidori never acquired a taste, but his current boss loved it and Testidori figured that he was no doubt thinking if this was going be his last night as a free man, he was going to indulge himself.

DaVoodi finally dabbed the corners of his mouth with a linen napkin and looked up. "Do you have our insurance policy?"

The hired hit man couldn't remember the last time he had failed an assignment and even though he could care less about DaVoodi and his current situation, he hated the black mark on his resume. "No, Mr. DaVoodi, I don't. They're being protected by an NCIS agent."

"You realize that after tomorrow's Grand Jury, it won't matter anymore," he flatly stated.

"We almost had them. In fact, the NCIS agent, Anthony DiNozzo, is badly wounded."

"'Almost' isn't good enough!"

Testidori was a world class hit man, so the likes of Guido DaVoodi didn't scare him. In fact, he still had plenty of time to apprehend the children, which is why he so casually tossed the blood stained jacket on the table and said, "I left men in West Virginia to follow their trail, and I'm confident that we'll have them by morning."

"I've paid you good money to bring them to me, and it doesn't look like that's going to happen. There's no room in my organization for failure."

The threat was lost on a man like Testidori. He had insurance policies against such retaliation and he knew that DaVoodi knew that. But, he didn't like to fail; more importantly, a single failed mission could put you out of the business faster than incarceration, so he offered a more conciliatory tone and said, "Mr. DaVoodi, I have an idea. It came to me on the drive back here."

The Mafia Don settled back in his chair, templed his fingers, and patiently waited to hear this 'idea'.

"We don't have the children, but NCIS doesn't know that we don't have them. Suppose we make the Director of NCIS _think_ we have them?"

DaVoodi narrowed his eyes, contemplating the plan.

Testidori continued, "Agent DiNozzo doesn't have a gun anymore, or a phone, and he's injured, maybe even dead at this point. And we have his jacket, with his blood on it. And the best part is," Testidori reached inside the pocket and retrieved a black leather case, "we have DiNozzo's ID and badge."

He now had his client's full attention. The ruse just might be enough to do the trick. And Testidori saw it in his eyes. Just in case he needed further convincing, the hired killer added, "I'm convinced that DiNozzo can't keep evading us… he's good, but I'm better. He's headed deeper into the back country of West Virginia, and I have men everywhere. Even if we don't actually pick those kids up by the time the Grand Jury convenes tomorrow, there's no way for them to contact their father. So, there's no way anyone's going to know that we don't have them."

A slow evil smile turned up the corners of Mr. DaVoodi's lips. This idea of his just might have merit. Besides, he particularly liked these kinds of games.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Tony, Kayla and Jared crouched at the edge of the field. In the moonlight, they could see a farmhouse, but more importantly, they could see a barn. They had been walking for several hours and they were exhausted. "We'll rest here a minute," Tony said, knowing it was more for himself than the children.

He felt Jared curl up next to him, shivering in the cold. He wrapped his arm around him, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. But the truth was, things were not good.

When Tony crawled into the head of DaVoodi, he didn't like what he saw. Deceit and trickery were as much a part of the Mafia as threats and violence. Tony was now without his jacket, badge, ID, and gun. If Testidori had taken any one of those items, he could use it against NCIS. He had to contact Gibbs, but he couldn't take the risk. Testidori's men would be swarming the area and he was in no condition to mount an attack, or even defend against one. He knew what had to be done, but his thinking was being marred by the pain. "C'mon. Let's try and get to the barn. Walk quietly and no talking."

It took a while, but they finally made it. The barn had an old fashioned door that was being held closed by a large beam resting on a hook. Jared lifted it up and slid it over while Kayla swung the door open. Tony limped through, losing his desire for secrecy bit by bit. Once inside, Kayla pulled the door closed behind them. She clicked on the flashlight and for the first time, Tony felt a tinge of hope. There was a loft, which would have been an ideal place to do what needed to be done, but Tony didn't have the strength to climb the ladder. They found all kinds of farm equipment, horse tack, and even a half empty bottle of whiskey, but it didn't have what he needed the most, which was a bed and blankets. In the far corner, he found a small stall that was relatively clean, and he collapsed on the straw.

"Are you okay?" Kayla asked after hearing his heavy breathing.

"I'll be fine," he lied. "But you have to do something for me."

"What?"

"You have to get this bullet out."

Even in the darkness, he could tell her eyes were big. "You can do this. I'll tell you exactly what needs to be done.

"I don't think I can."

"Trust me, Kayla, you can. I saw you get us outta that movie theatre. I know you can do this."

She looked down at her little brother, but he was no help. If she read him correctly, he probably thought she could do it too. "I don't know…"

"Kayla, I need for you to do this. I'll explain everything to you. Then, when this is over, I'll take you wherever you want to go, Disney World, Paris, anywhere. But right now, we have to get this bullet out."

She bit her upper lip, then slowly nodded her head.

"Good. Bring that medicine kit here and tell me what's in it."

She described the contents of the first aid kit as he lay on his side staring at a wayward piece of straw.

"I got the water you wanted," Jared said, having found a hose.

With difficulty, he managed to pull his knife from his pocket and open it. "Take this to the hose and clean it off as best you can. See if you can find any matches. If you can, sterilize the blade with one."

Kayla and Jared shared a glance at each other before doing what they were told. They never did find any matches but they found an old kerosene lamp. Tony instructed them to dip the knife into the kerosene, and then run it under water again. After they did that, they sat down next to Tony and he laid out exactly what he wanted Kayla to do, from making the first incision, to using the tweezers they'd found in the kit, and pouring the antiseptic over the wound, to wrapping him with gauze. One of the most painful parts was determining exactly where the bullet was, and it was almost exactly where Tony thought: lodged just under his right shoulder blade. It wasn't too far in, but it was far enough that Tony knew he'd better take a hefty swig of whiskey before she began.

"One final thing, Dr. K," Tony said, gently giving her her first nickname. "I'll most likely pass out, so don't be scared, and don't stop what you're doing. You can do this, I know you can." He turned to address Jared. "And you, MJ, assist Dr. K as needed. Do you know who Michael Jordan is?"

"Sure! He's one of the greatest basketball players ever!"

"You're right. One of the reasons he's so good is his ability to assist his teammates. That's what you're gonna do, assist your sister. Can you do that?"

"I think so."

"I need for you to know. I need for you to be sure. There's going to be a lot of blood and Dr. K's gonna need your help."

He gave his sister a look, but she only stared at him, giving him that look that she saved for when she needed his help with something, mostly convincing Mom and Dad to let her do something.

"Yeah, I can do it."

He said it with conviction and that was good enough for Tony. "Good." He took another long swallow from the whiskey bottle and waited for the burning of his throat to subside. He tore some fabric from his shirt and soaked it in the alchohol. Then he folded it and put it between his teeth. He grabbed onto a leather strap that Jared found for him and when he felt he was ready, he nodded.

He was not prepared for the pain. Fortunately, he didn't stay conscious for long.

Chapter Break

Vance descended the stairs, deep in thought. He never imagined his children would ever have been put in jeopardy for something he had seen. Hell, he never thought the lives of his children would depend on the one agent he would have most liked to have been rid of. He was bone weary and was convinced that last night had been the longest night of his life.

"How's your wife?" Gibbs asked when he entered the bull pen.

"She's resting. This not knowing is killing us. Did you match the blood?"

Gibbs nodded, "It's DiNozzo's."

"What about the truck? You find that yet?"

"Not yet. We got every available local LEO and the FBI scouring the area. We'll find them."

"When, damnit! Agent DiNozzo could have taken them anywhere, assuming DaVoodi doesn't already have them!"

"Director," Gibbs said, soothing his own fears as much as everyone else's, "we're working this case very aggressively. You're tired and should be preparing for today. Go back upstairs and be with your wife. If anything breaks, we'll let you know."

The tension in the bullpen was high. It had become the unofficial gathering room for anyone who had anything to do with the case. Abby sat next to Ziva and Ducky now sat in Tony's chair, forcing Sachs to take up residence next to McGee.

"Look," Gibbs said, coming from behind his desk, "whatever you may think of DiNozzo, there's nobody better. There isn't a more qualified agent out there who could do a better job at keeping Kayla and Jared safe. Even if something were to happen to him, I'd bet my last breath of air that your children would be protected, because that's the way he thinks. He's always five and six steps ahead of the next guy."

On some level, Leon knew this to be true. Anthony DiNozzo was the most sought after agent in NCIS. Not only was he requested by other departments, but other agencies also requested his services. The one requisition that always intrigued him was the one from cyber crimes. They could have asked for McGee, or any number of other technically trained agents, but they didn't. They asked for DiNozzo. When he inquired about it, he learned that Tony could dance through an operating system better than Gregory Hines could dance on a stage—but only when he wanted to.

Leon looked at Ziva, wanting to hear more words of comfort. She nodded and agreed, "It is true, Director. Tony is one of the most capable agents I've ever met, inside NCIS and Mossad. He may not have all the extensive training, and he may be a bit unorthodox at times, but he manages to outsmart, out-think, and out-maneuver the bad guys."

Abby nodded proudly, knowing that he had that something special that few men possessed.

Tim felt the need to add his thoughts and said, "She's right, Director. It may not be pretty, but he always figures it out."

Gibbs brought Leon's attention back around and said, "I've never met his equal, not in the marines, and not in civilian life. So put your mind at ease and go back on upstairs and be with your wife. Let us do our job and find them."

Vance started to leave, but stopped abruptly. He considered his idea while remembering the thick file of requests for DiNozzo. "If he saves my children, I'm giving him any position in the agency he wants."

"Fair enough."

After the Director left, Fornell said, "Leon testifies in front of a Grand Jury this afternoon. If DiNozzo doesn't contact us by then, what's he going to say?"

Once again, Gibbs had pretty much been occupied with those kinds of questions most of the morning, and unfortunately, he hadn't come up with any answers. So, he did what is always does in situations like this; he looks away.

Chapter Break

The sharp pains and general throbbing woke him up. He blinked, focusing his eyes on his surroundings. With difficulty, he lifted his head and saw two sets of eyes, huddled together, staring at him. "Hey," he whispered, pushing off a mountain of straw that seemed to be covering him.

"We thought you were dead," Jared said.

Tony felt like that may not be too far from the truth. "Why would you think that? I feel great."

"Because you haven't moved since last night."

"Did you get the bullet out?"

Kayla held out a blood stained piece of gauze holding a copper colored slug, "I think so. Can I keep it?"

Tony's head was pounding and he wasn't sure of his answer, but she smiled and put it back in her pocket. He couldn't even focus on his watch to see the time, "What time is it?"

Kayla leaned over, brushed off the straw, and looked at his wrist, "Ten fifteen."

Tony sat up, but the movement was too sudden and the pain was too blinding. "Shit!" came flying out of his mouth before he could stop it. He lay back down, heavily breathing. It took several minutes before he regained his composure and, squinting his eyes from the pain, he hissed, "We have to move. Did you see a car outside?"

"I saw one drive up this morning," Kayla said.

Not good, not good, not good. "I don't suppose it could have been the owner of the house?"

Kayla shrugged.

After much effort, he made his way to the door and peeked out. Sure enough, the car was a dark colored SUV, the kind the Mafia is fond of driving. And the man sitting behind the wheel was dressed in a dark suit, the kind the Mafia likes to wear. "Did you see how many men were in it?"

"Just one. He went inside the house and came out with something to drink."

Tony furrowed his brow, his thinking still cloudy from the pain, "If he's looking for us, why didn't he come in here?"

"He did," she added with a speck of enthusiasm. "We covered you up with straw and then climbed up that ladder. He didn't look around too good though. I think he just wanted to get back inside his car where it was warm."

Thank goodness that good help is hard to find, even for the Mafia. Trying to ignore the pain in his back, Tony marveled at their ingenuity. "How'd you get to be so smart?"

Kayla blushed, turning her head. Jared rolled his eyes and muttered, "Oh, brother."

Peeking through the door again, it was evident that the man was relaxed behind the wheel, no doubt set in for the long haul of waiting, ensuring that this farmhouse didn't become a refuge for them.

"Why don't the people who live here call the police on that man?" Jared asked.

"Because…" Tony hissed at his severe discomfort, "they probably think he IS the police. He most likely showed them a badge and told them some lie about us." He leaned back, feeling the eyes of the children on him. He was so ready for this to be over. He did a quick calculation and determined that they had to get on the road now, not run into any of DaVoodi's men, and avoid any traffic jams around DC in order to make it to the courthouse on time. Even if the Gods were with him, it was going to be tight. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do. We need to lure that man into the barn. Jared, do you think you can get his attention without being seen?"

"How do I do that?"

"See those bushes next to the house. I want you to sneak up to them and then toss pebbles onto the roof of his car. Not too many, just one at a time until he gets out. Then hide there, and don't be seen. Can you do that?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Okay." He took a minute to adjust his arm, and swipe at the bead of sweat forming on his brow. He didn't really want to know how his back looked, but based on how it felt, he was going to be needing a doctor, and sooner than later. He adjusted the leather strap that was tight around his chest, and he guessed it was what was holding the bandage to his back. He had to force his mind to stop thinking about his injuries and get back to the plan. "When he gets out of his car, he'll be able to see the barn door open. Let's just pray he doesn't call his buddies before he checks it out."

When the plan was in place, they watched Jared crawl to the bushes and gather a handful of small rocks. The first one missed the car completely. The second one hit the rear window, causing the man to stir, but little else. The next couple landed squarely on the roof, forcing the man to get out and look around. He looked up and saw that there were no trees overhead. The noise obviously baffled him, but like most hired help these days, his IQ was about the same as his suit size so he dismissed it without much thought.

Tony motioned for the boy to toss another one. This time, the goon got out and walked around his car. That's when he noticed the barn door slightly ajar. He walked within a few feet of Jared, approaching it cautiously. Pushing the door further open, he pulled his weapon and entered.

When he was standing at the designated spot, Tony nodded to Kayla, and she dropped the kerosene lamp from the loft above, hitting him squarely on the head.

He crumpled to the ground almost before the lamp did, and, moving faster than he thought possible, Tony grabbed his gun and held it on him. But it was wasted effort as the man lay unconscious on the dirt floor.

"Nice work," he commended.

From up above, she yelled down, "Did I kill him?"

He couldn't help but smile at her matter of fact question, but then frowned at what his influence might be having on the young girl, "No, but his headache is going to be worse than mine when he wakes up."

After tying and gagging him, Kayla asked, "Why can't we just leave him here?"

"Because there are many ways he could get help, and I don't want him making any calls to anybody. I want DaVoodi to think that we're still on the run."

Satisfied that the goon wasn't going anywhere, Tony stepped cautiously outside and limped as fast as his pain riddled body would take him to the car. He backed it slowly into the barn, and with the help of Kayla and Jared, they stuffed the man into the back of the SUV and covered him with an old horse blanket.

After the exertion, Tony sat down in the straw, wondering how he was going to make the drive all the way to DC in his condition. Between jagged breaths, he forced his brain to do another quick survey of his injuries. His leg continued to bleed from the bullet that went straight through earlier. His arm was of no consequence anymore because it remained pressed tightly against his torso. But it was his chest causing him the most agony. No matter how still he kept his arm, every breath caused him pain. Add to that his pounding headache, and he suspected an infection was setting in.

Kayla and Jared stared at him again, knowing these bouts would eventually pass but unsure how to help him.

"I need to do something with my arm. Can you find a rag or some rope or anything that I can make a sling out of?"

They came back with an old shirt that appeared usable. Under Tony's directions, Jared tore it in half and tied both sides together. Then Tony cradled his arm inside the triangularly shaped fabric while Kayla tied the knot behind his neck. She performed a quick inspection of his bandages and adjusted the leather strap holding them in place. There was a lot of blood, but she didn't say anything. Her brother knew the expression, but he also knew better than to ask her about it.

"You want me to drive?" Jared asked.

Tony almost laughed at the offer. "No, I think I'll drive. As it is, I doubt your dad is ever going to forgive me for what you two have done." Folding his knees underneath him, he got up one leg at a time. When he was finally standing, he said, "Just point me in the right direction."

"I'll do it. Jared'll get us lost."

Chapter Break

"How can a grown man and two children just vanish?" Gibbs asked, his frustration apparent.

Nobody had an answer. The FBI was reporting nothing, and the local LEO's were reporting nothing.

Fornell finally said, "If DiNozzo wanted to disappear, I suspect he could. You yourself said he was the best."

Still, there was no way an entire state could be covered with law enforcement personnel and nothing come of it.

Vance entered the bullpen, dressed for court; his wife was noticeably absent. "Jackie isn't coming," he stated.

The elephant in the room needed to be addressed, but nobody was going to ask the Director what he intended on saying.

"You still have time, Director. You don't have to be at the courthouse for another two hours."

"Why haven't you found them?"

Gibbs shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "We're still looking. The good news is it's been quiet."

"Quiet! I don't want quiet! I want my children!"

"So do I. And I want my agent."

The tension in the bull pen was broken by an NCIS security guard, "Excuse me. I have a package for Director Vance."

Vance looked down at the large box and back up at the guard, expectantly waiting for an explanation.

The guard quickly added, "It's already passed through x-ray and the scanners. There are no explosive devices inside. The delivery man said it's imperative that I hand it to you directly." He pushed the large box towards the Director and waited for him to take it.

Instead, Gibbs stepped forward and took it. He placed it on his desk and felt the edges and inspected the writing.

"No return address," Fornell pointed out.

Gibbs pulled out his knife, sliced through the tape and pulled off the wrapping. Then he slipped his knife down the center of the box, slicing through that tape. He carefully lifted the flap and looked inside. When he lifted the other flap, Fornell peered down at the item. Gibbs reached in and pulled out the jacket, instantly recognizing it as Tony's.

The silence hung heavy in the room. The hole and the blood made it difficult to look at.

Fornell pulled out the leather case lying in the bottom of the box. He opened it up and showed it to Gibbs. "It's DiNotso's ID and Badge." He silently read the note attached and handed it over to his counterpart.

Gibbs read the note and handed it to his boss. Vance read it out loud: "You know what to do if you want to see your children again." He felt the prickles on the back of his neck, and when he turned, he saw his wife standing on the mezzanine looking down, her expression said it all.

Gibbs watched his Director ascend the staircase two at a time and disappear. Once gone, he said, "It looks bad, but it doesn't mean that Tony's dead. Abbs, I want you to analyze this jacket and note. Tell me anything and everything you can about them. McGee, go with her and help."

"On it."

"Ziva, pull the security tapes and find out who delivered this package."

"Fornell, give me a status of your agents in West Virginia. Why haven't we found that truck yet?"

When the bull pen had cleared, and it was just Ducky left, Gibbs let his guard down, "He's not dead, Ducky. If he were dead, DaVoodi would have sent more than his jacket and badge."

"And the children?"

Gibbs stared at his desk. Things were not supposed to go this way. He looked up in time to watch Ducky leave the bullpen. Alone, he contemplated the situation. Making a decision, he pushed away from his desk and headed towards the Director's office.

He knocked, and then opened. Jackie was sitting on the sofa with her head in her hands, and Leon was beside her, comforting her. "I know that DiNozzo isn't your type of NCIS agent, and I know that you'd rather have a house full of McGee's, but I'm telling you, he's not dead."

"How can you know that?"

"My gut's telling me that. Just like my gut's telling me that DaVoodi doesn't have your children."

"Your gut's telling you that, huh!" Leon barked. "Well, I can't risk it. I can't risk losing my family over this."

Gibbs felt helpless. There wasn't anything more he could say to put their minds at ease, but he knew, in the pit of his belly, that this had to be a trick. Unfortunately, like everything else, he didn't have proof. All he could do was stand there and watch the sadness grow on their faces.

He left the director's office and went straight to Abby's lab, "Whad'ya find?"

"Preliminary tests indicate that the blood on the jacket is Tony's. I won't know for sure for another couple of hours. The writing is basic penmanship. I can't tell anything more without something to compare it to."

Preoccupied, Gibbs turned on his heels and left the lab, returning to his desk. "Ziva, who delivered the package?"

She clicked an image to the plasma of a white van, "No name, no plates, no decals. The driver wore a hooded sweatshirt and kept his face away from the cameras."

"How'd he get past the gates?"

"He didn't. He gave it to security, who gave it to the NCIS guard, who brought it to us. Told the security guard that his van broke down. Since the package was for The Director of NCIS, he ran it through the scanners. By the time it had cleared the scanners, the driver was gone."

Gibbs pinched his nose. Never had he had such little information to go on this far into a case. "Fornell? Get Fornell on the phone."

Ziva handed the phone to her boss after she had reached the FBI agent. "Whad'ya find out?"

"We got nothing, Gibbs. Our agents haven't seen their truck or any other vehicle."

"Keep looking," he said, and hung up.

Ziva stared at Gibbs expectantly. Time was running out and they hadn't heard a word from Tony. Even though they had been taught to anticipate, they had no new information from which they could do that. Waiting seemed to be the game of choice; a game they had never been very good at playing.

"Damn, Tony, where are you?" Gibbs said to no one in particular.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Director Leon Vance and attorney M. Allison Hart sat at the table in the courtroom. She, thumbing through papers, and he, staring forlornly into space, were worlds apart where the case was concerned. In the first bench behind them sat Gibbs, Fornell, and Dr. Mallard, and in the bench behind them sat Abby, McGee, Ziva, and Ron Sachs. Even Palmer had taken the time to attend, but his arrival was later than the others and he sat closer to the rear of the room. Mrs. Vance was ominously absent.

As is supposed to be the way, Grand Juries are informal, except this one was anything but. Because of the high profile nature of the case, the District of Columbia implemented some little known rules to ensure not only the fairness of the evidence, but the safety of all parties involved. As a result, the proceedings were held in one of the larger, more modern court rooms, which was designed to hold media intensive inquiries. Also, it was deemed prudent to have the defendant on hand; after all, it was his lawyer, the pasty yet infamous J.E. Healey, who all but demanded a Grand Jury. Even though it was unlikely DaVoodi would be allowed to provide any rebuttal, he was granted the right to hear the evidence being brought against him. In an unprecedented move, the court allowed support for both sides to attend, which made it all feel like a trial instead of a preliminary hearing.

"I've never been to a Grand Jury like this," McGee said. "What do they hope to accomplish by all this hoopla?"

Fornell answered, "They're not hoping to accomplish anything, McGee; they're trying to prevent a lawsuit. One of the best ways to mitigate the inevitable defense counter suit is through a Grand Jury. Defense attorneys have grown to hate them for this reason."

"So why did DaVoodi's lawyer insist on having one?" Abby asked.

Sachs answered, "Because he knew he'd have an ace in the hole… The Director's children. And then his case wouldn't even go to trial."

"Seems a bit excessive," Ziva added, unable to hide her concern for her partner.

"A properly run Grand Jury can thwart more lawsuits than any other single act by the judicial system," Dr. Mallard added. "These particular proceedings may be unusual, but not unprecedented."

The judge hit his gavel before the good doctor could relay one of his many stories and called the court to order. "Ms. Hart, are you prepared today with your witnesses?"

"I am."

The judge looked at the defense attorney, perplexed that he didn't see the infamous Guido L. DaVoodi sitting there. "Mr. Healey? Your client does not have to be here; however, I understood that he wanted to be here."

"He does want to be here, Your Honor. And he is coming—"

The commotion at the rear of the courtroom interrupted his explanation and he turned around. As flamboyant as ever, his client entered. The tall, dark haired, slightly overweight Mafia Don was accustomed to being stared at, for he was a handsome man even at his age. Dressed immaculately in a dark tailored suit, DaVoodi walked down the center aisle. On his arm was a woman half his age, draped in a mink coat with diamonds and gems dripping from her body. He offered her a seat in the front row, forcing several others to move down. His smile was crooked as he made it a point to acknowledge his accuser, NCIS Director Leon Vance.

Judge Harris reprimanded the theatrics, "Counsel, please get your client under control. This may only be a Grand Jury, but I won't have anyone make a mockery of it!"

There was nothing the lawyer could do about his client, and pretty much everyone in the courtroom knew it, but he put forth a good effort, pulling the seat out and encouraging the crime boss towards it. Even seated, DaVoodi made a show of it by unbuttoning his jacket and leaning back, like he hadn't a care in the world.

Vance kept his composure, barely, by looking straight ahead, never giving the lowlife criminal the satisfaction of looking him in the eye. He kept thinking of his children, not being able to digest the thought that they were being held captive, or worse. He shook his head and blinked his eyes, forcing those images to go away.

Gibbs felt his gut churn as he glared at DaVoodi. These were dangerous times for the former marine sniper. He was never very good at dealing with his own feelings of revenge, and right now, the only way he was handling it was by not allowing himself to believe that anything had happened to Tony. He wouldn't let his mind go there, at least not until he saw, with his own eyes, his agent's body. And then heaven help the man responsible.

The judge brought the proceedings to order, "This Grand Jury is being held to determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence to indict Guido Louis DaVoodi for the murder of Matty T. Mancusi. This Grand Jury was requested by Guido Louis DaVoodi and permission was granted by the District of Columbia. The District of Columbia set forth the provisions of this hearing, and each of you has a copy at your table. The prosecutor will present evidence at this time for the record. The defense will have no means to respond. If the Grand Jury votes to prosecute, the defense can present evidence of innocence at the trial. Ms. Hart, are you ready with your evidence?"

She looked questionably at her client, then nodded, "Yes, we are ready."

The judge turned to the bailiff and he opened a side door and seventeen ordinary citizens filed in and sat down in the jury box.

When the last one seated himself, the judge looked at Ms. Hart and said, "Now then, please present your evidence to the jury."

After giving Leon Vance another reluctant stare, she stood and said, "I'd like the members of the jury to hear an eye witness account of the murder from Mr. Leon A. Vance, The Director of NCIS."

Vance felt all eyes on him. What was he going to say? Hart had tried to glean that information from him on their way over to the courthouse, but it soon became evident that he didn't even know what he was going to say. He was the Head of a Federal Agency, sworn to uphold the law under any circumstances; yet, he was also a father, wondering if he was ever going to see his children again. His mind knew that if DaVoodi had them, he'd never let them go alive, but his heart wanted to believe that he would, and they'd be delivered safely to him. That is, of course, if he ever had them in the first place.

"Director Vance?"

He pushed those thoughts aside and stood. As he made his way to the small chair next to the seventeen men and women who made up the grand jury, his pulse raced. A small bead of sweat broke out across his brow, and if he let it, his legs might have given out from under him. In the next few moments, was he going to seal the fate of his children, or let a cold blooded murderer walk free?

"Director," Ms. Hart began, "on the evening of May 23rd, where were you?"

"I was having dinner at Villa Cuchina in Georgetown."

"Were you alone?"

"No."

"Who was with you?"

"My wife. We were celebrating our wedding anniversary."

"Will you tell the jury what happened at that restaurant that night?"

For the first time, Vance looked over at the man who had murdered Mancuso. Could he let a murderer walk free? Would he? His stomach felt queasy and his head hurt. He took a shaky breath and began, "My wife and I arrived at Villa Cuchina restaurant in Georgetown at approximately 8:45pm. The restaurant was only about half full, and by the time our food arrived, the place was mostly empty. It was nice… quiet, and romantic..."

His voice trailed off, allowing his thoughts to go back to the moment before his life changed forever. He was at the top of his world, remembering looking at his wife, and thinking about telling her how much he loved her. But he wanted the moment to be perfect, and a party of two had just entered the room, and he had recognized one of the men as Matty Mancusso, one of several syndicate bosses. He had walked right by him on his way to his own table across the dining room.

"Director?"

Vance brought himself back to the present and looked at his attorney.

She repeated her question, "Did you recognize any of the patrons?"

He looked down at his hands, studying them, and nodded. "Yes. I recognized Matty Mancuso. He sat across the room with another man."

After a moment of silence, Ms. Hart prodded, "And what happened next?"

Vance stared at the floor. "We. I mean… My wife, Jackie, and I—"

He caught some movement out of the corner of his eye, and heard the commotion at the rear of the courtroom. At first, he didn't see anything. It was just the general disorder in the room that alerted him that something unusual was happening.

And then he saw them.

Kayla, Jared and Tony stood just inside the door. Gibbs was the first to look behind him and see them. One by one, the people seated turned and stared. The three of them were a sight to behold. Tony applied pressure to the back of Jared's neck and they walked slowly down the center aisle, with Kayla holding onto his side. It was Jared who saw his father first and exclaimed, "Dad!"

Vance blinked his eyes in disbelief. "Jared?"

The boy broke and ran to his dad's outstretched arms. Kayla followed, smiling and throwing her arms around her dad's neck.

The relief that washed over Tony was visible. Abby watched him sway and reached out for him at the same time Gibbs did. "Hey," she soothed, as she felt his weight lean into her. Fortunately, Gibbs took a hold of his arm and steadied him, "Sit down." Gibbs guided him into the space next to him, looking him over as he helped him down.

DaVoodi had turned pale. When he saw the children, he was initially shocked. Then he leaned over to his attorney and was demanding something, but his attorney wasn't looking too agreeable.

Judge Harris hit his gavel several times and declared, "This court will come to order! Ms. Hart! What's the meaning of this?"

M. Allison Hart smiled, tossed a sideways glance at the angry Mafia boss, and said, "I think we're ready to hear ALL the evidence against Mr. DaVoodi, Your Honor."

After the judge ordered the testimony to continue, Vance let go of his children and said, "Go sit with Ms. Hart at the table there. When I'm done, I'll take you to see your mother."

Allison smiled warmly at the children, but they walked past her.

Instead, Kayla and Jared went straight to Tony and squeezed in beside him, forcing Gibbs, Fornell and Mallard to scoot down again. Although Tony didn't seem to mind, it was evident that he was in considerable pain.

He draped his only good arm around Jared, comforting the boy as he usually did, while Kayla rested her head on his shoulder, snuggling as close to him as a person could get.

The image brought a smile to Ziva's lips and she nudged McGee. It was a rare sight indeed. But Gibbs didn't notice it. What he did notice was the bead of sweat glistening off his agent's face, the blood stained shirt, and the tight cradling of his arm against his body. Combine that with periodic wincing and rapid, shallow breathing, and maybe it was time to call an ambulance.

But Tony only glared at DaVoodi, almost daring him to look back at him. No, an ambulance would have to wait. He wasn't going to deprive his agent of seeing the charges brought against one of the most notorious mafia kingpins of the time.

After relaying a graphic and detailed account of the murder of Mancuso that took place in front of him by DaVoodi in the restaurant, Vance stood up and gave the Mafia boss one last smirk, lasting at least ten seconds. The courtroom was silent, and the woman, who had been escorted into the room by DaVoodi, was noticeably shaken. Her sugar daddy was about to be charged with a crime that there would be no coming back from. She was going to have to find her money elsewhere.

The only thing that could describe the expression on Healey's face was fear. He tried to ease the gravity of the situation, but his client wasn't listening and the lawyer had been reduced to babbling. Instead of being in the best possible way to avoid a trial, he was now in the worst possible way, all but waiting for the Grand Jury to return its inevitable verdict. And since the testimony was graphic, detailed, and particularly cold blooded, and since the source of it was delivered by the head of a Federal Law Enforcement Agency, DaVoodi knew better than anyone what it all meant.

Within minutes, the jury returned and said there was enough evidence to bring murder charges against Guido Louis DaVoodi. The judge ordered him held without bond, and he was handcuffed and escorted away. The last thing Gibbs heard his lawyer saying was, "I'll send an appeal today to get the bond reversed. I'll have you out by tomorrow, Mr. DaVoodi!"

As the courtroom cleared, Vance hurried back to his children, picking up Jared in his arms and hugging him, and then hugging Kayla and kissing the top of her head. Finally, he landed on DiNozzo.

"I don't know how to thank you, Agent DiNozzo."

Tony wasn't fully aware of his surroundings. Vance seemed to be talking to him, but it was anyone's guess as to what he was saying. He heard Gibbs ask for an ambulance and he felt pressure on his arms. They were helping him stand and guiding him down the aisle towards the door. He watched the children leave with Vance, and he remembered hearing something about seeing their mother, but other than that, he let himself be led away. It felt good to let someone else take control.

"We can take him to the lawyer's lounge."

As Tony limped down the hallway, the hairs on the back of his neck tingled, and he stopped.

"Tony?" Gibbs asked. "What's wrong?"

Tony bit his lip, and stared straight ahead. Through the lawyers, clerks, messengers, and clients, he saw him. Just when he thought he could relax, no amount of pressure being applied to his arm was going to get him to take another step forward.

Confused, Gibbs felt his agent tense up, and take a step backwards. His eyes flickered down the hallway, and Gibbs wondered what in the hell was going through his agent's head. "It's okay, Tony. You're safe now."

Ziva tried to encourage him too, "Just a little bit further, Tony, and you can sit down until the ambulance comes."

McGee continued, "I can get you a chair if you don't think you can make it?"

But Tony wasn't interested in what they were saying. He only had eyes for the well dressed man walking towards him, and thoughts of surviving.

Confused by his hesitation, Gibbs was actually holding onto Tony's arm keeping him from backing away, and McGee stepped behind him, preventing him from backpeddling any more.

"What's wrong?" Abby asked.

Finally, Gibbs saw the reason for Tony's behavior. Testidori was walking straight towards them. But if he had any ideas of harming anyone, he was concealing it well. He hands were up, palms out, signaling that he was unarmed. Gibbs stepped in front of Tony, as did Fornel and Sachs, while Ziva and McGee steadied him.

"What do you want?" Gibbs toned.

"I come in peace. I am unarmed and I have not brought anyone with me. But rest assured, if I don't walk out of here as easily as I walked in, I've left specific instructions with several of my associates."

The thinly veiled threat was not lost on his audience, and Gibbs sized him up, considering his words. If nothing else, he was a man who lived by a code.

"I've come to talk to your agent. I'll be brief."

Gibbs considered the request but the decision was made for him when Tony inched his way forward, no doubt curious about what the man had to say.

"Agent DiNozzo, I've come to congratulate on you a pursuit worthy of my talents. And I've come to offer you a job."

"What?" Fornell said before he could hold his tongue.

Testidori smiled at the lapse in control and continued, "Before coming up against you, I was batting a thousand. I could guarantee my clients 100% satisfaction on a job… that is, until DaVoodi hired me to kidnap those children. In this business, it's 100% or it's nothing. Thanks to you, I have a black mark against my name now, so getting business in my line of work is still fairly easy, but the money's not there anymore. And that's where you come in.

"You think like me; you are but one thin line away from being a criminal yourself. You're the first target I've come across that left a path of destruction more devastating than me. You, alone, killed five of my men. They were good men too, the best. I figure you sort of owe me, and since you've demonstrated that you're really closer to being on this side of the law than that side, we could forge an alliance. The money's more than you could possibly imagine, and the perks—the women, the power, and the prestige—are more than I can describe.

Testidori paused long enough to appreciate their dropped jaws and stunned silence.

Smiling, he continued, "I know you can't give me an answer right now. You probably won't give me an answer any time soon, but the day will come when your government bureaucracy will tear at you, and eventually you'll get fed up playing the game. That's when you'll contact me. Think about, Anthony, you and me together. There'd be no stopping us."

With that, he smiled cordially at his audience. He turned to leave, but Tony's voice stopped him.

"Four."

Turning back, he furrowed his brow and said, "What?"

"Four."

"Four what?"

"Four men. You said I killed five of your men." He pushed his good hand into his pocket and pulled out some keys. "One of 'em is stuffed in my trunk." He tossed the keys through the air and Testidori caught them.

"And for the record, I'm nothing like you," Tony said, almost in a whisper. Even given his current physical condition, Tony could still sends chills down someone's spine with just his words.

Chapter Break

Gibbs sat in the hospital waiting room, alone. He kept replaying the conversation over in his head. Tony had a bad side to him, and at some point, Tony just might entertain Testidori's offer. He knew this because at one time in his own life, he would have entertained such an offer. It was hell to be flawed.

"Am I interrupting?"

Gibbs hadn't noticed his Director entering the room and shook his head, "No. Just thinking."

"I heard about Testidori's offer. You gotta hand it to him, he knows talent when he sees it."

"Yeah."

"I guess I should rethink my position."

Gibbs raised a brow.

"I once said our agents should look more like McGee than DiNozzo. I think I was wrong."

"Well, there's a place for both of them."

Vance shrugged, realizing Gibbs was more political then he gave himself credit for. "The kids have been bugging me about visiting Agent DiNozzo. Jackie's bringing them over soon. Is he up for it?"

"He's doing better. They took him off all the tubes and monitors last night. Now, all he wants to do is get out of here."

"I hear that. Why aren't you in there with him?"

"He's sleeping."

"Are we interrupting?" Abby asked.

"Not at all," the Director replied.

"Good. I can't wait to see Tony and tell him about Sister Rosita."

Behind her the rest of the team followed. Ziva offered, "If I know Tony, he's going to want to leave here soon. I think he should stay with one of us."

Abby smiled and shared a wink with Dr. Mallard.

Being somewhat obtuse at times, McGee said, "He can stay with me. I have plenty of room."

"He can stay with us," Jackie said, entering the room with Kayla and Jared.

"Can he?!" Jared exclaimed. "He's gonna teach me how to shoot a three pointer!"

An unfamiliar voice said, "Agent Gibbs?"

Abby and McGee stepped aside to allow the doctor to come further into the waiting room. Gibbs stood and answered, "Yeah."

"I wanted to update you on Agent DiNozzo's progress." He looked at the gathering of people and tried to put faces to the fantastic story he'd heard in the doctor's lounge. "Can we talk in private?"

Gibbs looked at the many expectant eyes and said, "You can talk in front of them."

The doctor gave them one final look, and then began, "Okay. Agent DiNozzo's doing remarkable well, considering how he came to us. His wounds are healing, as are his bones. He has several cracked ribs and a broken clavicle. Whoever removed the bullet did a fairly decent job… won't leave too much of a scar."

Jared and Kayla stole a glance at each other.

"The only thing that is still worrisome is his fever. It broke yesterday, but returned this morning. Otherwise, he's doing well."

"What's the fever mean?"

"There's still a minor infection going on somewhere inside of him. We've upped the antibiotics in his IV and we believe that a day's worth of that should be sufficient. We'll have to keep him one more day, even though I know he's chomping at the bit to get out of here. But who isn't."

"Can we see him?"

"I don't see why not, but keep it to family, just a few at a time."

A nod sent the doctor on his way and Gibbs walked out of the waiting room and down the hall. He'd do his usual and let them figure out who would visit and who would wait outside.

Tony was bantering with an attractive nurse when Gibbs entered and he couldn't help but smile. Yeah, he was getting better.

"Hey, Boss. I think they're gonna let me go home today."

"I don't think so, DiNozzo. I think you have another day."

Tony winked at the nurse and said, "I have an ally on the inside now, right Nurse Hammond?"

She winked and turned, but stopped when she saw the number of people trying to fit into the room. It was a private room, but still a hospital room. Before she could protest, Gibbs lied, "The doctor said it was okay."

Tony looked at everyone and said, "Wow, all we need now is Fornell and Slacks, and we'll have a full house."

"They're coming," McGee said. "I just got off the phone with Agent Sachs and they'll be here shortly."

"Tony!" Jared yelled after managing to squeeze through the adults.

"Hey Buddy!"

The boy catapulted himself onto the bed, sending Tony into a painful grimace.

"Jared!" Jackie cried, "Get off him, right now!"

But Tony had already maneuvered him off his legs and let him sit cross legged next to him. Besides, Kayla was already sitting on the other side of him, talking. "The doctor said I did a really good job getting that bullet out!"

Tony paled slightly at the comment.

"What?" Jackie said, looking at her husband for an explanation that wasn't coming. Then to anyone else, but their looks were as blank as hers. Tony rubbed a hand over his face.

"Yeah," Jared added, pulling the slug from his pocket. "I still have it."

"Uh, you can put that away now," Tony stammered. "I don't think anyone is interested in that," he quickly added while patting the boy's hands, covering the evidence.

Jackie asked, "What's that you have in your fingers, Jared?"

"Nothing!" Tony replied, a little too fast. "Hey, anyone bring a pizza? I'm starving!"

Jared held up his hand so they could see the slug. "You should have seen it, Mom. Kayla did surgery on Tony! She did a real good job, too!"

Beaming, Kayla nodded, "It was easy. I just followed the instructions that Tony gave me. He's a real good teacher. He told me how to start a car by just touching a couple wires together too!"

Tony inhaled, eyes wide, and swallowed, wondering how the Director of NCIS was going to take the news that his little girl had hot-wired a car. More importantly, how was his wife going to take it?

In disbelief, Jackie asked, "You did what?"

"I operated on him, and started a truck without a key," she answered.

But before she could elaborate, Jared added, "That was nothing, Mom! You should have seen her driving the car! She drove all over the place! She only went off the road a couple of times!"

Tony felt like he couldn't breathe. He thought about feigning a heart attack, but in his condition, they just might actually shock him. "Hey, guys," he whispered, "you're digging my grave here. I thought we agreed that we weren't going to mention some of these things."

"I didn't mention picking the lock to the motel room," Jared whispered, although not very low.

"Shhh," Kayla admonished, "that was supposed to be a secret." Taking command, she faced her mother and father and said, "Tony made sure that we knew that breaking into a motel room and sneaking into a theatre were bad things to do."

Tony didn't see the suppressed laughter otherwise he might have appreciated the humor. But at the moment, all he could think about was what his director was going to do to him, and he dropped his head back into his pillow. Agent Afloat? Evidence clerk? Maybe death by electrocution wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"Tony? Tony?" Jared said, shaking the man alert again. "Are you okay?"

Tony looked into the big eyes behind the dark rimmed glasses. "Yeah, I'm okay. I was just hoping to break the news of our escapades to your parents slowly, that's all."

Jackie Vance inched her way closer to him and leaned over his bed. She gently cupped his face and turned his head slowly to face her, ever mindful of his physical condition. Gently and soothingly, she whispered, "You brought my children back to me safely. There's nothing that they can say or do that would change my opinion of you. You are my hero, and always will be." She kissed him lightly on the side of his cheek, and seeing his eyes grow weary, she lifted her son off the edge of the bed. Kayla slipped off too and soon the visitors were realizing there was a reason why Tony was still in the hospital; he needed his rest.

When the room was all but clear of Gibbs, Ziva and McGee, Tony lulled his head over to better see them. "I swear I'm not like Testidori."

Gibbs patted his leg and replied, "Someday DiNozzo, I want to hear more about this run you had with Vance's children."

McGee added, "I'd bet it'd make a good movie."

Ziva winked, "I bet it already _is_ a movie."

But the comments were lost on their colleague as he was already asleep. Gibbs ticked his head and the three vacated his room.

Outside, Kayla was regaling the group with some of the details of their journey. From the looks of everyone, they were enjoying every minute. As they listened, it soon became evident that there was a whole new side of their colleague that none of them was aware. There was a lot more to Anthony DiNozzo, Jr. than anyone realized.

Only Gibbs worried what an offer like Testidori's could do to a man like Tony. And his gut churned at the thought of it. There was a conversation that had to be had with his senior field agent, but it would have to be sometime in the future, on his sofa over a couple of flame broiled steaks and a brew.

~Fini

_**Thanks to everyone who read and commented. I really do appreciate all the feedback and helpful hints that came my way. Stay tuned... I'm in the throes of several stories and hope to post something soon. ~Jasmine ** _


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